Celebrating Black History

Jenifer Lewis, whose decades-long career spans TV, Hollywood, theater, and music, used her passion for performing to fuel her fıght for mental health.

Triple-Threat Jenifer Lewis on Finding Balance and Mental Health

Paquita Hughes's journey into the fılm industry is a lesson in perseverance.

The road to earning a college degree isn’t easy for anyone, but Hughes’s journey to The Los Angeles Film School is an inspiring tale of believing in yourself against all odds. As a child of the foster care system and a college dropout, her path into the entertainment industry is a true success story.

“I grew up in Mississippi, but I was born in Puerto Rico and came to Mississippi by way of New Jersey,” Hughes explained.

“I had a very rough child-

Lewis has met life’s challenges head-on. Known as the “Mother of Black Hollywood,” she’s been the star of countless Broadway hits, fılms, and TV shows, as well as a tireless activist. However, her biggest challenge had nothing to do with acting or activism.

“Being diagnosed with bipolar disorder was my biggest challenge,” she said. “When I was on stage and had all those delusions of grandeur, I was in heaven! Everybody said, ‘She’s fabulous’ —

and I was. I had no idea I was manic.”

Initially, her undiagnosed bipolar disorder was an asset.

“When I walked into a room to audition, I knew they needed the triple threat. That grandiosity came from my bipolar disorder, the mania that comes with that. I was a locomotive with talent!”

Shining her light

It took Lewis a long time to realize that the very thing that gave her that edge came at a cost.

fıve years of persistence for her therapist to convince her to take medication.

“I was afraid that the edge would go away,” she said. Today, Lewis focuses on activism, traveling the world to address racism, economic inequality, and climate change. She also advocates for those suffering from mental health issues.

“Leave the curtains open,” she advised. “Let the sun come into the room. If you need help getting out of bed, call on the ancestors. Call on the people that you know got up when they didn’t have to. Call on the greats who didn’t take any shortcuts. Call on me. You just have to get up.” ■

“I came out of 30 years of depression before I was diagnosed,” she said. “I slept under the covers in dark rooms.” Lewis has now been in treatment for 20 years, but it took Jeff Somers

Spotlight on Independent Producer, Writer, and Location Manager Paquita Hughes

hood, so escapism is what drew me into the fılmmaking industry. I was a heavy reader, and I still am. Reading used to give me an escape. As a kid, during those harsh Mississippi summers, my mom would

give us two options: ‘Either take a nap or read a book.’ I always read. It was my way of escaping.”

Hughes’s vivid imagination and love of reading stayed with her into adulthood. After

serving in the military as an air traffıc controller, Hughes enrolled in The L.A. Film School using her GI Bill benefıts to study fılm production.

“The major thing was transitioning from military to civilian

lifestyle,” Hughes said. “I got out and I came right to Los Angeles. I was also diagnosed with an invisible wound, and it was a really interesting phase of my diagnosis. I was fıguring out who I am once again.”

She discovered her talents for producing and eventually landed on the sets of major productions, including HBO’s “Perry Mason,” Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere,” and Peacock’s “Bel-Air.” Hughes is currently a location scout/ manager and resides in Los Angeles with her daughter. ■

Jourdan Arnaud Thompson

she’s been the star of count-

This article has been paid for by The L.A. Film School.

Beauty and Technology Come Together to Change Black Hair Care

When Candace Harris was studying computer science at Georgia Tech, she decided to combine her tech skillset with her interest in fınding the right hair products for her natural hair.

That led to her realization that artifıcial intelligence could be used to analyze hair type and texture.

“I discovered that your hair is as unique as your fıngerprint, which requires a personalized approach for product recommendations,” she said.

“I learned how to code and write algorithms to provide the best match for your hair out of all the products currently in the market.”

Her company, MYAVANA, was born. She and a team of Black female scientists and engineers created the scientifıc, state-of-the-art hair analysis tool that’s been called the 23andMe for hair.

Loni Love Wants More Black Women in STEM

Loni Love, Emmy Awardwinning comedian and author, started her career as an electrical engineer, and she continues to advocate for representation in STEM fıelds.

Did you always know you wanted to be a comedian?

I didn’t know that I wanted to be a comedian until I was in

tine that we mostly refer to as a struggle,” Harris said, explaining MYAVANA’s personalized approach takes away the struggle, and saves people time and money. “Re-discovering your hair is like re-discovering yourself.”

Not having access to capital and having to grow the business slowly has been a challenge but Harris persevered. She advises Black entrepreneurs to discover their purpose and stay true to their vision. Talk to your customers and ask for help when you need it.

Here’s how it works: Customers submit a photo of their hair and MYAVANA uses AI and their patent-pending proprietary software to provide instant analysis of the person’s hair type, and gives product recommendations to purchase.

MYAVANA doesn’t get paid to promote products, so recommendations are specifıcal-

ly catered to each customer. For more complex cases, a customer’s hair strands are sent to a lab where a hair analyst identifıes the hair’s condition, including density, elasticity, and porosity.

“Black women have the greatest hair texture variety out of any ethnicity in the world which makes haircare a treasured but complex rou-

“Through forming and nurturing relationships, I was able to grow my business abundantly against all odds,” she said. ■

Kristen Castillo

To learn more about MYAVANA, visit: www.myavana.com

college doing a few standup gigs to make extra money. Even then, I didn’t think I could make a living from it, because of my upbringing growing up in the projects. It wasn’t until I graduated with my degree in electrical engineering that I realized I wanted to do more in life.

Did you face any adversity being a Black woman in a STEM career?

You face adversity as a woman in STEM, but especially as a young Black woman. I realized when trying to get raises and promotions there were a lot of excuses, even when I had really good progress reports from my manager. I still felt different and alone. That played

a big part in me wanting to go out and do my own thing.

How important is education when uplifting marginalized communities?

Growing up in the projects, I wanted to use my platform to speak about the importance of higher education, how it opens up your life, and how it makes you see things differently. In marginalized communities, to get out of that situation, you have to get an education. My college experience was some of the best years of my life. Once I got that degree, I had opportunities and job offers. So, my message has always been to obtain an education because it’s needed, and it can change your life. ■

When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized the curriculum for a new Advanced Placement African American Studies course designed by The College Board, prompting the Florida State Board of Education to ban it in Florida schools, it gained national attention. But this is just the latest move in an effort to erase the legacy and history of minority groups in this country — an astounding 42 states have some form of legislation in the works that would ban or restrict socalled “divisive concepts” like critical race theory (CRT).

But it’s not really about divisive concepts. It’s about erasing aspects of American history certain groups don’t want to acknowledge. CRT, for example, is a college-level theory studying the ways race and racism intersect in our legal system, and is not being taught in any elementary school anywhere.

“Anything around Black history, anything around LGBTQIA+ rights, anything around women’s history is now sort of lumped into this category of ‘critical race theory,’” noted Jade Magnus Ogunnaike, vice president of corporate power at Color of Change. “It’s a way to keep them from being taught in schools.”

Corporate allies

Color of Change is the nation’s largest racial justice organization. “Our role is to make a more human and less hostile world for Black people,” Ogunnaike said. “We’re seeing anything that makes us as a country and as American people more tolerant, more loving — anything that acknowledges the incredible advances that Black people, women, and

Protecting the Legacy of Black History

spires more parents to get involved in local school boards and PTA meetings, where versions of this strategy are being employed nationwide.

“Show up,” Oggunaike advised. “It’s incredibly important that parents show up to those meetings. There are plenty of Black parents, plenty of queer parents, plenty of LatinX parents, or Asian parents, or white parents who do want their children to be taught these things. But they’re not being heard.”

Oggunaike also suggests looking at the lists of banned books created in places like Florida. “Look at those banned books lists and buy those books,” she said. “Reason for yourself. If you are confused or curious about this fıght about critical race theory, if you’re not sure what’s real and what’s fake, buy these books and take a look at them yourself.”

Once it’s clear that erasing Black history is erasing American history, the next step is also clear. “Join with Color of Change in our fıght against corporate power,” Oggunaike implored. “We are leading a monthlong push against Walmart and AT&T to take a stand — you are saying ‘Happy Black History Month,’ but you are erasing Black history from our schools.” ■

queer people have made over the past century — are things that Ron DeSantis and people like him want to erase.”

Color of Change notes that DeSantis’ move to ban the AP course in Florida was endorsed by the Florida State Board of Education, which has a distinct corporate influence. Members of the board

include Joe York (president of AT&T Florida and the Caribbean) and Monesia Brown, director of public affairs and government relations at Walmart.

“It is really disturbing,” Ogunnaike said. “Corporations shouldn’t be involved in Black history. They shouldn’t be involved in education at all.”

A moral issue

Ogunnaike believes it’s a mistake to frame this issue as a liberal-vs-conservative or Democrat-vs-Republican divide. “It’s not about left or right,” she says. “This is a moral issue around right and wrong.”

The publicity surrounding DeSantis’ controversial moves may have a silver lining if it in-

To learn more and join the movement, visit colorofchange.org/ blackhistorynow and sign our petition to Demand that Textbook Publishers Fight Back Against Efforts to WhiteWash Black History:

Jeff Somers

A campaign to erase Black history goes far beyond Florida — and must be opposed.

A SCENE FROM COLOR OF CHANGE’S CHILDREN’S CARNIVAL TO PROTECT BLACK HISTORY