(Photo Credit: P&G/MBIB) |
My Black, Your Black, Her Black, His Black....Our Black was indeed Beautiful last weekend in New Orleans during the 2012 Essence Music Festival.
Procter & Gamble's My Black is Beautiful was one of the top highlights, at this year's Essence Music Festival. Outside of Queen Aretha Franklin's and other amazing performances, throughout the weekend, I dare anyone tell me that the MBIB Booth Experience was not THE highlight of the official EMF daytime activities. ::waiting...waiting:: I thought not.
Imagine a Future...
MBIB kicked the festivities off on Thursday evening by announcing an amazing and exciting initiative, Imagine a Future, that is a collaboration with UNCF (United Negro College Fund) and Black Girls Rock! (BGR!). Imagine a Future is designed to positively impact the lives of one million black girls over the next three years by documenting the current state of black beauty and providing tools and resources to foster a greater sense of self-esteem and confidence within the next generation of young black girls. Over the EMF Weekend, MBIB distributed $3,000 in book awards to six black female students and one $5,000 academic scholorship to a New Orleans-based black female student through the UNCF Empower Me Tour book award sweepstakes. The announcement of this iniative was a beautiful thing to be a part of, as the cause is one that I am passionate about, especially since becoming an aunt to my now 7-year old niece. If you'd like to learn more about Imagine a Future and the MBIB movement, please visit: www.myblackisbeautiful.com or www.facebook.com/mbib. You can also follow and join the movement on Twitter @MBIBmovement.
My Black is Beautiful: The EMF2012 MBIB Booth Experience
MBIB Booth before the Doors opened to the EMF 2012 Crowd (Photo Credit: AP Images) |
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My Black is Beautiful w/ MBIB EMF 2012 Blogger Correspondents (Veronica W. for MadameNoire & Myself on behalf of CurlyNikki.com) |
You also had a chance to test new products at the Gain "My Scent" Booth, and if lucky, got to play the Matchmaker game w/ host Demetria Lucas to find your perfect scent match. Everyone, throughout the convention center all weekend, was able to experience how Bounty brought it with cleaning up spills and how Charmin enhanced the bathroom experience with their attendants, products and more. On top of all those fabulous services, you received lots of swag at the many stations that you visited inside the MBIB Booth.
And, then, if ALL of THAT wasn't enough? MBIB was definitely where to find your favorite celebrity dropping in to help celebrate the inspirational movement that our BLACK is indeed BEAUTIFUL. When Ms. Bevy Smith (MBIB Ambassador) speaks, everyone listens honey. From Beverly Bond to celebrity hair stylist, Chuck Amos, everyone dropped by to chat with the social diva throughout the weekend. A snippet of that list reads like this: June Ambrose, Goapele, Toya Wright, Faith Evans & the Real R&B Divas (Monifah, Nicci Gilbert, KeKe Wyatt and Syleena Johnson), LeToya Luckett, the OMG Girlz, CoCo Jones, Q Parker of 112, Raheem DeVaughn, The Braxtons, Eric Roberson, Free, Eva Pigford, Cynthia Bailey and many more.
See the slideshow below for more official & candid photos from My MBIB Experience:
In wrapping, I'll just say this: If you plan on attending the 2013 Essence Music Festival, numero uno on your EMF To-Do List should be the My Black is Beautiful booth experience! I'm not just being biased because I worked with them this year, either. I have pictures to prove that the lines did not quit all weekend, until forced to on Sunday evening. MBIB is an exciting movement that is on its way to spreading their inspirational message to even more girls and women in African-American communities throughout the world. With MBIB's help, we will indeed redefine and/or create our own individual beauty standards.
So, save the date, chicas! Next year's Essence Music Festival is taking place July 4-7, 2013 and it is definitely a "Bucket List" kind of experience. I think that every African-American should experience the EMF festivities at least once in their lifetime. Now, who's down for a curlfriends vacay to NOLA for the 19th Annual Essence Music Festival? I hope to see all of my fellow curlies in Nola to help celebrate with me and all of my Gulf Coast natuarlistas!
A very special thanks to my new curlfriend forever, Nik, for allowing me the extraordinary opportunity. You Rock, chicadee! :)
Until next time....
extraordinarily,
Stephers