Webinar Panelists
Darrius Peace, Author
My Hair Ain't Nappy: A Black Man's Introspection on Natural Hair
With more than 14 years as a professionally licensed natural hair stylist, Darrius Peace is an internationally recognized entrepreneur, speaker, author and natural hair instructor who has helped countless women make a seamless transition to wearing their coiled tresses with confidence and style. Peace's methods are rooted in the philosophy that a smooth experience and transition to healthy natural hair not only involves an physical transformation but also a mental transformation as well. Peace has been praised for his versatility and ability to produce style options that polish, modernize and redefine the image of today's "natural woman."
T h ro ugh his own inspiring hair journey and enlightening experience as
a natural hairstylist, Darrius Peace teaches us to accept, embrace
and love our natural curls with his groundbreaking book My Hair Ain’t
Nappy: A Black Man’s Introspection on Natural Hair.
Thought-provoking and humorous, My Hair Ain’t Nappy is
an engaging commentary that offers professional expertise
on how to mentally and physically transition to wearing our natural, afrotextured
tresses — all from a Black man’s perspective.
By challenging cultural norms, My Hair Ain’t Nappy empowers Black
people to redefine our beauty.
www.myhairaintnappy.com
a natural hairstylist, Darrius Peace teaches us to accept, embrace
and love our natural curls with his groundbreaking book My Hair Ain’t
Nappy: A Black Man’s Introspection on Natural Hair.
Thought-provoking and humorous, My Hair Ain’t Nappy is
an engaging commentary that offers professional expertise
on how to mentally and physically transition to wearing our natural, afrotextured
tresses — all from a Black man’s perspective.
By challenging cultural norms, My Hair Ain’t Nappy empowers Black
people to redefine our beauty.
www.myhairaintnappy.com
The One Sun Lion Ra
Musician and Spoken Word Artist
"When I say Hip Hop, y'all say I love, Hip Hop!"... The One Sun Lion Ra born and raised in New York City and spending a significant amount of his life in Los Angeles and North Carolina has no artistic limits especially when it comes to his music. Combine that with the fact that he is the son of Lou Wilson eldest of the four Wilson brothers from the group Mandrill and you can expect nothing less than insane heat and intense passion when it comes to Ra's brand of Hip Hop and Spoken Word. Ra has performed all over the east and west coasts as well as overseas exhibiting his skills in the art of emceeing, beat-boxing, and performing spoken word poetry. "Real Hip Hop for Real Hip Hop heads", remains his credo, but perhaps a more fitting phrase for the flavor The One Sun Lion Ra brings would be, "Real Messages for Real People". You can hear and own music from Ra as well as connect with him via moja_sol@yahoo.com or on Reverbnation.com by going to the site and typing in The One Sun Lion Ra.
Kumi Rauf
Entrepreneur/CEO/Social Strategist
Creator of the I Love Being Black Apparel Line and Cultural Movement, Kumi Rauf is the creative mind behind a series of social networking seminars and webinars, which help build one’s brand in an increasingly competitive online environment.
Rauf is an expert at growing customer fan base, maintaining fans online and increasing engagement. His most recent success is taking his I Love Being Black Facebook fan page from zero to 6 million “Likes” in less than three years and his ability to teach others what they need to grow their business or venture with competitive results. Today, the page, which is the largest Black-owned Facebook Fan Page in the world, has more fans than BET, TV One, Essence, Tom Joyner, AOL Black Voices, Black Enterprise and Ebony/Jet, combined.
An off-shoot of Rauf’s Because I’m Black – an organization whose mission it is to combat the self-hatred and negativity embodied by many Blacks – I Love Being Black’s goal is to increase the knowledge and self-value in the Black community and with its youth through positivity, awareness and fashion.
Prior to becoming a full-time entrepreneur, Rauf spent five years in corporate America developing business applications and working with various programming languages. Since then he has created many applications that enhance capabilities on social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Rauf is an award-winning businessman with several recognitions under his belt, including being an officer and chair for the National Society of Black Engineers; a recipient of the Urban League Top 40 Under 40 award; awarded highest billing developer by Novacoast; a high school mentor; and collegiate track and field athlete. He has shared his knowledge and experience with a diverse mix of audiences via radio appearances, one-on-one seminars, conferences and more.
Rauf is an expert at growing customer fan base, maintaining fans online and increasing engagement. His most recent success is taking his I Love Being Black Facebook fan page from zero to 6 million “Likes” in less than three years and his ability to teach others what they need to grow their business or venture with competitive results. Today, the page, which is the largest Black-owned Facebook Fan Page in the world, has more fans than BET, TV One, Essence, Tom Joyner, AOL Black Voices, Black Enterprise and Ebony/Jet, combined.
An off-shoot of Rauf’s Because I’m Black – an organization whose mission it is to combat the self-hatred and negativity embodied by many Blacks – I Love Being Black’s goal is to increase the knowledge and self-value in the Black community and with its youth through positivity, awareness and fashion.
Prior to becoming a full-time entrepreneur, Rauf spent five years in corporate America developing business applications and working with various programming languages. Since then he has created many applications that enhance capabilities on social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Rauf is an award-winning businessman with several recognitions under his belt, including being an officer and chair for the National Society of Black Engineers; a recipient of the Urban League Top 40 Under 40 award; awarded highest billing developer by Novacoast; a high school mentor; and collegiate track and field athlete. He has shared his knowledge and experience with a diverse mix of audiences via radio appearances, one-on-one seminars, conferences and more.
Bernel HarrisonPoet, motivational speaker.
Co-Creator of Black Men for Black Women Facebook page.
Bernel is the co-creator of Facebook page Black Men For Black Women. A page comprised of Black Men who respect and uplift Black Women and Children. He believes strengthening the Black Family can lead us to return to our natural state of mind. Bernel has dedicated 20 years of coaching, implementing youth programs, conducting assemblies, and mentoring troubled youth. He’s also a motivational speaker, an actor, poet, physical training instructor and has appeared on many radio and internet shows. He has received numerous awards, proclamations and accolades during his lifetime. Bernel became fed up with the European standard of beauty that a large number of Black Women felt they needed to live up to. Upon witnessing the Natural Hair Movement he began to embrace and encourage Sistas in their Natural Hair Journey. Nothing inspires his poems/spoken word ore than Natural Hair or Black Women. Loving Black Women and Natural Hair is not fad, it’s what he was born to do.
Presenter
Jessyca Marshall, LMSW
Founder
Jessyca founded Naturally Beautiful Hair Care as a personal desire to provide support to all who were transitioning from the chemicals and processing procedures on Black women's hair. She eventually became trained in certified in the inter-woven technique to create locks and has since gained worldwide recognition for her work and trainings in the technique. She promotes all that is natural and healthy, for the mind, body, and spirit including a line of natural hair products and hair interlocking tools.
Professionally, she is an Ivy-League trained therapist that has transferred her therapeutic skills to the natural hair care arena. She founded the brand Brothas that Love Sistas with Natural Hair to address the need for support in Black Male/Female relationships, self identity, and culture, especially in regards to the exploding natural hair industry. She found that there were many man who had an essentially unheard voice on their views, women in need of support from these men.
www.naturallybeautifulhaircare.com
Professionally, she is an Ivy-League trained therapist that has transferred her therapeutic skills to the natural hair care arena. She founded the brand Brothas that Love Sistas with Natural Hair to address the need for support in Black Male/Female relationships, self identity, and culture, especially in regards to the exploding natural hair industry. She found that there were many man who had an essentially unheard voice on their views, women in need of support from these men.
www.naturallybeautifulhaircare.com