Ignite your fire!
Dark & Lovely, founded in 1972 by Carson Products but acquired by L’Oréal in 1998 was created for Black natural hair with aim of helping black women express and embrace their individual styles for the very first time in 50 years hosted their first-ever Building Beautiful Futures Mentoring Masterclass: A Black Girl’s Guide to Mentorship on Monday, Apr. 25, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Teaming up with the go-to brand for black hair as part of their #BuildingBeautifulFutures, actress, producer, and activist Storm Reid who serves as their ambassador joined by MSNBC host Symone Sanders who performed her hosting duties dished on the importance and power of mentorship, offer key advice for young Black women trying to navigate their way academically and career-wise.
NAACP Chief Strategy Officer, Yumeka Rushing, was also featured in the Masterclass which was open to everyone and free of charge.
“Throughout my life, I have been lucky enough to have mentors that have guided me and been a consistently present support to help me get to where I am today,” said Storm Reid.
“I’m so excited to join Dark & Lovely in hosting this event to help share the importance and ability to create a shared community and support system for all of our journeys, especially as young Black females.”
A Black Girl’s Guide to Mentorship addressed topics such as: “how to get a mentor,” “how to be a great mentee,” “goal setting,” “time management,” “intention setting” and more.
“With the Building Beautiful Futures mentorship masterclass series, we aim to inspire and uplift the next generation of Black female leaders,” commented Erica Culpepper, general manager, Dark & Lovely.
“Now more than ever, young Black women are in need of actionable support that can propel them forward.”
Launched in January 2022, the Building Beautiful Futures initiative was developed to help bring educational and career equity to Black, female college students and young professionals through scholarships, mentorship, and career coaching opportunities. As part of this initiative, Dark & Lovely has partnered with the NAACP Youth & College Division to provide four-year scholarships of $10,000 per year for young Black women pursuing four-year degrees, Black Enterprise reports.
“The NAACP prides itself in supporting the enhancement of the lives of the Black community,” said Rushing.
“Recent events highlighted in public, such as the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, further push the necessity for higher education among young Black women. Through our partnership with Dark & Lovely, the NAACP Youth and College Division takes pride in aiding the achievements of our scholarship recipients throughout their undergraduate matriculation. I’m honored to be a part of such monumental influence for the betterment of Black women’s success.”
