The Texture Lounge

Tara Gbolade on…

(00:05:48) - why she has decided to explore the wealth of African history; pre-slavery

(00:11:30) - babalawos, diviners and healers

(00:17:10) - the link between Christianity and slavery

(00:26:48) - community as a core value in many African communities; and the importance of creating more socially equitable spaces for our community

(00:29:55) - a brief introduction to Tara and her career in architecture

(00:32:36) - the submissive nature of Nigerians and how this impacts our ability to challenge and speak up to authority

(01:03:30) - her experiences while meditating

(01:09:44) - the meaning and power behind her name

(01:16:00) - definition of a babalawo

(01:26:55) - the books she is reading. A Very Short Introduction to African History, A Very Short Introduction to African Religions, Black & British: a forgotten history and Africa Architecture.

Follow Tara on Instagram: @taragbolade and find out more about Gbolade Design Studios.

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Re-joining me this episode is Diallo Brooks. A social justice advocate based in Washington, DC who works for People For the American Way. You will remember him from the COVID-19 episode. Sitting with us is Dave; and we will go by his first name only, to protect him. Dave joins us as a Black cop based on the East Coast who shares the flaws he sees daily within the police department, the reason why he joined the force and his thoughts being an officer, while Black, in America.

Diallo Brooks and Dave the Cop on…

(07:30) - What inspired Diallo to get into social justice. Fact: his great-great grandmother, Maggie Walker, was the first woman and first black woman to found a bank. A statue has been erected in Richmond, VA in her honor (07:30).

(09:17) - What it looks like to champion social justice.

(13:17) - How they would feel if their kids decided to become police officers.

(17:33) - On policing being a way of fighting for social justice.

(18:45) - Officers that stand by and watch their colleagues kill black civilians.

(21:00) - Being on the side of the protestors.

(22:25) - What inspired Dave to become a police officer.

(23:17) - What he wish he knew before becoming a police officer.

(25:36) - Whether Dave identifies more as being a black man or being a police officer in America; and how it affects how he does his job.

(29:40) - How Dave, as a Black man, feels seeing and hearing about the senseless murders of Black civilians.

(31:58) - What “the talk” sounds like in both their households.

(42:00) - Racial biases within the police department.

(44:17) - The quota system - productivity goals within the police department.

(52:44) - Historical context of how policing came about as a formalized structure during slavery.

(54:38) - Police reform. Understanding the core needs of the community will dictate what level of policing is required.

(66:20) - Respecting due process & timelines for the investigation and indictment of wrongful police officers.

(71:00) - Police violence stats according to https://mappingpoliceviolence.org.

72:00 - Defining qualified immunity.

(75:00) - Accountability around police misconduct in the Black community.

(79:00) - What their actions would have been had they seen George Floyd being murdered firsthand.

(93:45) - Whether this is a movement or a moment.

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Ariane Hunter on….

(09:00) The story behind her name

(11:45) How Project She Went For Her Dreams came about

(14:52) Navigating the move from corporate to owning her business

(21:10) Taking the leap into the unknown and how to manage the fears of our African/African-Caribbean parents in doing so

(30:45) Launching The Mentors Circle. A mentorship program for women of colour

(36:19) Her first mentor and how she found and approached her.

(37:00) What good mentorship looks like

(45:42) What a career could look like with and without mentorship

(51:00) Entrepreneurialism: How the global pandemic has impacted her business. Positively by the way

(55:11) What she has learned about herself during the current global pandemics

(59:28) Actionable tips on how entrepreneurs can take the leap into finally starting up their new venture

(01:03:45) How she protects her mental space and the importance of morning routines

(01:06:42) Her top beauty essentials. Skincare, makeup and haircare.

01:12:00 The Mentors Circle scholarship initiative. Want to contribute monetarily to the fund? Do so here

(01:13:00) Everyone’s favourite part. The lightning round

(01:16:00) How to keep up with the work at Project She Went For Her Dreams

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Dr. Cindy Duke on….

(00:00:00) - Check out our new theme tune. ‘Driving Me Crazy’ produced by @Rheimidi (look up his work on Instagram). Preview the full length at the end of this episode.

(00:04:04) - Introducing Dr Cindy Duke.

(00:04:50) - The meaning behind her name.

(00:07:45) - How she fell in love with the world of Fertility.

(00:11:09) - Some facts on uterine fibroids and its impact on black women

(00:13:03) - What is a fibroid and what does it look like?

(00:21:10) - Why fibroids are so rampant among black women and its link to vitamin D deficiency and its impact on fibroid growth.

(00:25:10) - Link to relaxer use and fibroids in black women.

(00:27:14) - The tell-tale symptoms of someone suffering from fibroids

(00:28:50) - The disparities. Black women aren’t taken seriously by the medical community when they show up with their symptoms and therefore aren’t tended to quickly enough (versus non-black females) for treatment.

(00:32:24) - Listen up: if you are experiencing any of these abnormal periods, get a physician to look in your womb and address the situation.

(00:33:28) - The fear of forced sterilization among Black American women.

(00:35:35) - I share my curious experience of finding out whether I have fibroids or not.

(00:43:34) - The difference between a myomectomy and hysterectomy.

(00:45:15) - Call-in Q1: Returning fibroids after myomectomy. What can we do differently to slow down or eliminate the growth of fibroids outside of surgery?

(00:53:15) - Top tips for women who plan to have children after the age of 37.

(00:55:17) - Environmental issues that affect our egg quality and egg count. Dr Duke breaks down the number of eggs women have over our lifespan. Mind blowing.

(00:57:37) - Egg freezing as your backup plan.

(01:00:00) Call-in Q2: The egg freezing process. Am I giving up on the traditional way of having kids? What is the ideal age of egg freezing for successful results.

(01:08:50) - What men need to do to boost their reproductive health.

(01:13:40) - Dr Duke advises we when should schedule our 1st appointment with a fertility physician.

(01:22:00) - Call-in Q3: For someone with low egg count, what should they do to keep them healthy?

(01:28:02) - Call-in Q4: Irregular periods? How much of a concern should this be?

(01:31:00) - Her go-to beauty essentials

(01:34:00) - Where to find Dr Cindy Duke. @drcindymduke on social media and www.drcindyduke.com. Look for her new ebook “Infertility in the time of COVID-19”.

(01:36:00) - The lightening round. Everyone’s favourite bit. A series of quick questions on popular culture.

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Brandice Daniel on….

(00:03:16) - Who she is and her company, Harlem’s Fashion Row.

(00:04:43) - Her name story: how the name ‘Brandice’ was born.

(00:06:28) - Exploring the first ‘F’ word: the Force that birthed HFR and what got her passionate about elevating designers of colour.

(00:10:10) - The resources Brandice did not readily have at her disposal to get HFR off the ground and how she acquired them. The harsh realities of being in the Big Apple with no money and no connections.

(00:11:15) - Accepting help from your friends and how she acquired most of her resources by taking people up on their offers.

(00:13:20) - Passion and going after your idea full throttle, no matter what. How passion will attract those resources you are looking for.

(00:15:30) - Summarizing her top tips for budding entrepreneurs who want to start their own business. Be brave. Get comfortable with the discomfort. Leverage your tribe. Go towards your goals and be courageous/say the thing you need.

(00:16:23) - Fashion. Rediscovering her personal style and shopping designers of colour.

(00:16:26) - Her why she has set closet goals. “My goal is to have 80% of my closet be designers of colour.” Wow.

(00:21:46) - What fashion should really mean.

(00:23:27) - The shifts she has experienced first-hand within the fashion industry. She touches on race and racism in fashion.

(00:27:07) - What she is still yearning to see change in the industry. There are no multi-billion dollar fashion brands owned by black designers today, yet we spend $22 billion and more on apparel.

(00:28:19) - Her first upcoming fundraiser. The HFR Icon 360 non-profit and virtual fashion event which sees the worlds of fashion, sports and philantrophy coming together 30th May, 2020. All proceeds to go to designers of colour.

(00:29:42) - How designers of colour can attract visibility to their work and step out from behind. The dos and don’ts.

(00:32:25) - Debunking on myth (mynth, as i said! Shaking my own head here…) on the fashion industry.

(00:34:06) - Fears and confidence killers. She is human and still has them today. Brandice talks about the importance of cliff jumping.

(00:37:55) - What she wishes she knew before starting her career. The importance of sales and marketing.

(00:40:19) - An example of a Failure she has experienced and how she learned from it. “I think it is better we quit something we know that we don’t love versus trying to force it to work.”

(00:44:05) - When she last celebrated herself.

(00:46:25) - The Fire. Brandice shares her go-to sources to re-ignite her flame.

(00:50:12) - The Fundamentals: 1 skincare, makeup, hair product and fashion essential. Brandice spills the tea on her faves.

00:54:00 - A personal note of advice to all listeners from Brandice. You are brave! Where to follow Brandice: @brandicedaniel, www.brandicedaniel.com, @harlemsfashionrow, www.harlemsfashionrow.com

(00:55:35) - The lightening round. Everyone’s favourite bit. A series of quick questions on popular culture.

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Tippi Shorter, Itaysha Jordan & Patricia Akello on…

(00:08:52) - Exploring the meaning behind my guests’ names and their origination

(00:18:19) - Black beauty industry statistics extracted from this ESSENCE online article

(00:20:25) - Why interest in Black Beauty continues to rise within the Beauty industry. Itaysha touches on the rise of the indie beauty brands giving larger corporates a run for their money.

00:29:00 - Patricia shares how she felt when her agency made the decision to shorten her name on signing. So as not to confuse clients with another model on their books who was also a black model called Patricia: “Even if we have the same name and we come from the same place, we are different people”.

(00:30:56) - Patricia acknowledges the growth of black models booked for runway jobs & speaks on the lack of dark-skinned black models as inspiration for her, when she was growing up.

(00:34:35) - Confidence issues: Tippi on having a curvy figure.

(00:38:00) - Confidence issues: Patricia on being the tallest and darkest girl in school, being called “black charcoal” and almost bleaching her skin to fit society’s ideal of beauty.

(00:41:32) - My guests define what beauty should mean and what beauty means to them.

(00:44:27) - Itaysha and Tippi explore why there is so much power behind our beauty. A must-listen. Key buzzwords: authenticity, innate, royalty, dynamic, versatility, layers and diversity.

(00:50:39) - Itaysha and Tippi address the importance (or not) for photographers to capture subjects of colour and whether only black hair stylists can style black women’s hair.

(00:57:00) - Tippi’s experience backstage at Fashion Weeks styling the hair of model’s of colour.

(01:00:00) - Patricia’s negative experiences as a model backstage at Fashion Week and having to style her own hair for shows due to the lack of texture styling expertise backstage.

(01:02:00) - Guests spill the tea on their favourite beauty essentials.

(01:11:00) - Eavesdrop into this part to hear when our guests feel the most full of beauty.

(01:14:24) - Where to follow my guests. Tippi: tippishorter.com and @tippishorter; Itaysha: itayshajordan.com and @itayshaphoto Patricia: @akellopatricia

(01:15:53) - The lightening round. Everyone’s favourite bit. A series of quick questions on popular culture.

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Diallo Brooks, Dr Okem Okpara & Nicole Clark on…

(00:07:12) - Exploring the meaning behind both Diallo and Okemefuna’s African names and their experiences of having non-western names growing up.

(00:14:42) - Coronavirus vs COVID-19: the distinction.

(00:20:12) - CDC stat cited by Dr Okpara: Approx. 80% of those who contract the virus will have a mild/moderate response.

(00:22:30) - Dr Okpara walks us through the common and uncommon symptoms of infected COVID-19 patients.

(00:28:57) - Nic shares her experience of how she contracted the virus and how the symptoms showed us for her.

(00:38:58) - How the virus spreads.

(00:44:00) - Being quarantined with an infected person. Dr Okpara shares his self-quarantine process and how he has been protecting himself and his family from potentially being exposed to the virus.

(00:47:45) - Masks. Which ones and why.

(00:52:56) - Diallo Brooks hits on why the black community is vulnerable and therefore heavily impacted by COVID-19: “Choosing between a paycheck and protecting our health”.

(00:59:05) - Death toll of American Americans are disproportionally higher than any other race/ethnicity. The latest data from APM Research Lab.

01:00:00 - Diallo Brooks highlights the racial disparities that continue to exist in this country’s (the USA) structures, leaving a majority of African Americans vulnerable to these pandemics. What about hazard pay for those working on the frontlines?

(01:07:00) - Africa & COVID-19. The role of hydroxychloroquine; a malaria treatment. Dr Okpara shares why African Americans are more susceptible to this disease.

(01: 17:18) - Nicole raises the shame that comes along with being a COVID-19 patient.

(01:19:47) - My guests share their biggest adjustment since COVID-19 and the first thing they will do when this is eventually over.

(01:36:30) - The lightening round. Everyone’s favourite bit. A series of quick questions on popular culture.

For more information on today’s guests:

Follow Diallo Brooks on:
Twitter: @DKBrooks45
Instagram: @DialloBrooks
www.PFAW.org

Follow Dr Okem Okpara on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/okemefuna.okpara
More about Austin Emergency Center

Follow Nicole Clark on:
Instagram: @nicworldwide

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Kehinde Anjorin on…

(00:09:40) - We share our experiences of having Yoruba names

(00:17:35) - Why fitness should be a priority for women of color. It is not a luxury but a necessity

(00:23:55) - Debunking the myths. Kehinde shares those common concerns female clients have when they start training and why they don’t need to be concerns

(00:27:26) - How COVID-19 is impacting her business. Virtual training sessions vs in-person

(00:31:17) - Tips on how to keep fitness levels up during quarantine. Basic equipment for home workouts and where you can get them from. Perform Better https://www.performbetter.com and Dick’s Sporting Goods https://www.dickssportinggoods.com

(00:39:28) - Bodyweight vs weighted exercises

(00:41:19) - Alternative exercises for barbell workouts

(00:42:19 - Tips for those wanting to shed pounds and those who want to build mass

(00:48:15) - I talk about my dreamy power smoothie and Kehinde shares how to make it heartier. This is the vegan protein powder I use (and like a lot) from Organifi https://www.organifishop.com/products/organifi-complete-protein-meal-replacement-1-bottle

(00:52:52) - Kehinde shares her position on protein shakes and supplements. Focus on the low hanging fruit first. Sleep is key.

(00:55:17) - Hair. Working out and maintaining hairstyles. Choosing between health and working out. “I’m not choosing between my hair or my health. I’m gonna work out”.

(01:00:52) - Kehinde shares her recommendations on how to track progress in your body changes. Scales vs photos vs the way your clothes fit on your body

(01:03:11) - Working out during the menstrual cycle

(01:07:52) - Find out what keeps Kehinde motivated

(01:10:00) - Winding down and creating time for herself. Skincare rituals and being a plant mum.

(01:15:50) - Travel: Kehinde’s favourite travel destination to date and her future travel plans. Working out on vacation or nay.

(01:19:25) - Everyone’s favourite part. The lightning round.

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WHAT THE STATISTICS SAY

• A recent study shows that on average, remote employees are more productive and work 1.4 more days every month, or 16.8 more days every year, than those who work in an office.
• 50% of remote workers plan to be their own boss one day.
• Remote workers save an average of 408 hours, or 17 days a year from not having to commute to and from the office.
• Source: Airtasker | March 31st 2020

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