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Essence Magazine:

Beauty influencer, Jackie Aina has always used her YouTube channel where she has over 3 million subscribers, to highlight black-owned beauty brands. And according to Aina, by now everyone should be able to name at least five.

On Tuesday, Aina created a buy black-owned thread on Twitter, and it shows just how knowledgeable her followers are.

“Black-owned thread” Aina, tweeted. “By now everyone should be able to name 5 MINIMUM black-owned indie beauty brands. Besides Fenty Beauty and Pat McGrath Labs (the obvious), “Aina added.

And according to the thread, that has since been retweeted over 6 thousand times, there are well over five. 

buy black owned thread https://t.co/74pUfpqmzt

— Naira Banks (@jackieaina) June 2, 2020

Followers flooded the comments section with Black-owned beauty brands who offer everything from nail polish to face masks to lipsticks. 

So if you need to re-up on any of your quarantine beauty essentials, check out the black-owned beauty brands here, who’ve got you covered

The post Jackie Aina Says You Should Be Able To Name More Than 5 Black-Owned Beauty Brands appeared first on Essence.

Essence Magazine:

Protests have spanned the country daily following the killing of George Floyd on May 25 by Minneapolis’ now former police officer, Derrick Chauvin. As the black community and allies took to social media to spread the word and demand justice for Floyd and countless others (Breonna Taylor is another name among the list of black lives lost in just the first six months of 2020), many began to look at large fashion brands, who are heavily supported by the black community, to take a stand.

Regarding “influencing” culture, it is these brands (with hundreds of thousands to millions of followers, with hugely diverse customer bases, with connections to individuals in high power positions) that are among the few, outside of political officials, that hold the utmost influence in times like these.

Perhaps to not much surprise, many brands fell short, late, or altogether completely silent regarding police brutality and the fight for basic human rights. Somehave released generic, almost empty, statements, and some have spread awareness in a way that feels more authentic and promotes action.

Tuesday June 2, both individual Instagram users and large brands were spreading blank posts of only a black square in observance of Black Out Tuesday. While a collective effort to encourage everyone to focus on what matters versus their own self-serving content, the movement is now facing backlash for flooding the Black Lives Matter and BLM hashtags of blank posts, effectively wiping the hashtags clean of valuable information and resources for taking action.

This is a telling and powerful moment for the black community. As responses have trickled in, internet users have taken to social media to discuss where and where not to use their black dollars and which corporations are seemingly not worth supporting any more. The conversation has inspired people to share lists of black owned brands to support instead.

The argument of whether or not the community even needs a statement from these large corporations has been a debate. Silence, or only reacting after pressure from social media, is a stance (of opposition) in itself, some have argued. But still, the influence of these companies cannot be denied.

Ahead, here’s a look at how various brands have addressed police brutality and racism against black bodies.

The post A Look At Fashion Brand’s Responses to Police Brutality appeared first on Essence.

Essence Magazine:

Daily protests have emerged all across the country following the killing of George Floyd on May 25 by former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin. As the Black community and allies take to social media to demand justice for Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others who have lost their lives to state-sanctioned violence, many are beginning to look at large fashion brands who are heavily supported by the Black community and expecting them to take a stand.

When it comes to “influencing” culture, it is these brands, with hundreds of thousands to millions of followers and hugely diverse customer bases, with connections to individuals in high-power positions, that are among the few, outside of political officials and activists, that hold influence in times like these.

Many brands have fallen short, have been delayed on their messaging, or have altogether been silent regarding police brutality and the fight for basic human rights. Some have released generic, almost empty, statements, while others have spread awareness in a way that feels more authentic and promotes action.

This is a telling and powerful moment for the Black community. As responses to the call for solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement have trickled in, internet users have taken to social media to discuss where and where not to use their Black dollars and which corporations are seemingly not worth supporting anymore. The conversation has inspired people to share lists of Black-owned brands to support instead.

The argument of whether or not the community even needs a statement from these large corporations has been a debate. Silence, or only reacting after pressure from social media, is a stance of opposition in itself, some have argued. But still, the influence of these companies cannot be denied.

Ahead, here’s a look at how various fashion brands have addressed police brutality and racism against Black bodies.

The post A Look At Fashion Brands’ Responses to Police Brutality appeared first on Essence.