This February Miss Porter’s is honoring Black History Month, which celebrates and recognizes the many achievements of African Americans throughout history. In honor of this month the OEI is releasing a bulletin. In this bulletin we have multiple articles about the contributions of Black Americans through time. Sophia wrote about Simone Biles and her journey through gymnastics. Ariana writes about her friend Ijeoma Azuike and her identity going to a Predominantly white institution. Benewa spoke about black hair and how hair rep-
resented a powerful image for many all through history. Georgia discusses the famous hair artist Malcolm Marquez, who uses his inspiration for hair to become an artist who does hair for many such as SZA, Rihanna and more. Finally, our guest writer this month is Kalynn Hillian and we are very grateful for her contribution for this month. Kalynn wrote about Celebrating Black Excellence Beyond Black History Month. We hope you enjoy our bulletin, happy black history month!
Photo by Blackpress USA
Black History Month 02/2025
Celebrating Black Excellence Beyond Black History Month
By Kalynn Hillian - Guest Writer
Black History Month was created to dive deep into the contributions that African Americans have made in the United States and to celebrate them for their accomplishments in different fields such as social justice, science, politics, and more. It is a chance to recognize and honor the contributions of African Americans from the very beginning of slavery to the present day. Many things wouldn’t exist without the creativity and persistence of people like Katherine Johnson, who helped send astronauts to the moon with her mathematics, or Frederick Douglass, who advocated for the abolition of slavery with his writing and speeches. Or without the blood, sweat, and tears of many determined African American women and men like Harriet Tubman, who led many slaves to freedom, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who fought for civil rights. Black people helped shape the world today while facing many systemic oppressions, such as Rosa Parks, whose act of resistance became a crucial moment in the fight against segregation. growing up, I often noticed that the media failed to represent the same sense of excellence and inclusion Black History Month encourages. We celebrate Black excellence in February, and the rest of the year ignores the authenticity and representatives of Black lives, especially in the media.
Throughout the media, it is evident that there are biases created because of colorism. Colorism is rooted in the ideas that were established during slavery. In the media, Black individuals are either not represented at all or misrepresented. Growing up as a biracial girl, there had been times when I felt invisible. It was rare to see anyone who looked like me or shared similar experiences. I felt isolated without a relatable role model to look up to. I would often encounter the stereotypical “black girl” portrayed in the media. This was a shallow portrayal that didn’t reflect me or other black girls. Many of my friends were drawn to the characters with blond hair and fair skin, while I wished to feel the same connection they had felt. These disconnects deepened my sense of invisibility and isolation, and it underscored the media’s failure to represent diverse and authentic identities. Though I did feel underrepresented in the media, I found a connection and comfort in this show; K.C. Undercover. This show stood out to me during my childhood in a few ways. The main character K.C. showed young Black girls like me that we can embrace our beauty, excellence, strength, bravery, and much more. Watching K.C. Undercover made me feel seen in ways no other show had before. K.C., played by Zendaya, was the main character, and I was finally able to connect with a character, giving me the confidence to embrace who I truly am.
To address this problem we need more than just awareness, we need a collective push for systematic change in the media. The Black individuals who have gotten us here today didn’t do all that work to not be represented in the media in the proper way and for their history to be taught fully in schools. This issue can’t be solved with just a switch, but increasing awareness for diversity is a huge first step. Representation goes beyond visibility, it’s about belonging. We have to ensure that no one feels invisible or marginalized in the media, the diversity of our world should be represented throughout. This journey for true inclusivity continues and needs to continue. I hope that future generations won’t have to search for themselves in the media, or their school history and curriculum, and instead, will grow up in a world where they are valued, represented, and seen. Black History Month is the gateway for this improvement. It celebrates and highlights the importance of our impact in history and serves as a reminder of what we need to do to continue to progress. It is important for us to acknowledge all the ways we have impacted history and tell all perspectives of different historical moments in time. All children deserve to see themselves in the media and be proud of how people just like them impacted and made a difference in our history.
Simone Biles
By Sophia Seraile Yam
This past year has been a notable time for African American professional athletes in America. At the Paris Olympics, over 20 Black athletes took home medals in their respective sports. Athletes such as Simone Biles brought home gold for Team USA.
Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in the world and has influenced the sport of gymnastics for years to come. She won 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals. Biles was born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio, and currently resides in Spring, Texas. She has been a gymnast since she was 6 years old and switched to homeschooling to increase her training. Biles’ professional career began in 2011 at the age of 14 and she went on to win her events.
Biles incredibly dedicated to her sport and has persevered through any challenges. She has a grand total of six moves named after her, including the Biles (floor), the Biles (vault), the Biles II (floor), the Biles (beam), and the Biles II (vault). Biles has also had a significant impact on mental health in sports.
In 2021 at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Simone withdrew from the women’s final team to prioritize her mental health as she dealt with the “twisties”. The twisties are when gymnasts lose perception of their body when in the air, which can be extremely dangerous when performing high-level movements. While talking with NBC’s former TV show host, Hoda Kotb, Biles explains, “Working five years for a dream and just having to give it up, it was not easy at all” (Biles). In putting her mental health first, Simone helped to pave the way for other gymnasts to not constantly be seen as rock-solid machines.
Simone Biles has transformed gymnastics all over the world through her skills and by using her voice. She has inspired many people to chase after their dreams while caring for their mental and physical health.
Black And African American Identities In Art
By Georgia Achilles
If you tuned into the Grammys this month, follow your favorite musicians on social media, or like to rifle through the magazines when you go shopping, you’ve likely seen the incredible work of hair artist Malcolm Marquez. Marquez became enamored with haute couture fashion as a teenager and began to explore expression and storytelling in the ways he presented himself. He found power and inspiration in hair and has since become a groundbreaking artist, creating some of the most iconic looks and pop-culture moments in recent years. Reaching viewers through celebrities like Doechii, Rihanna, Pink Panthress and SZA, his work pushes our understanding of what hair can be while paying homage to Black women of the 1990s and 2000s. Through his identity, creativity, and hands, profound celebrations of beauty and Blackness materialize, “Beauty is feeling in your skin, feeling activated through your physical presentation. It’s feeling fit for the moment, whatever that calls for”. Marquez’s influence in the art and entertainment industries cannot be overstated, as his work calls for proper treatment of Black entertainers and stylists, and for recognition of the contributions of Black culture to contemporary media, “I want that value given to all black hair and makeup artists from commercial to editorial. We keep up the trends and have specialized skills that some of us have been practicing since childhood”.
“Black people more than ever have become the trendsetters of fashion and beauty. Queer people have always been the force behind social progress and evolution. I feel honored to be sitting proudly in both identities. What’s important to me is maintaining that sense of community preservation while I move through this industry. Black trans women and black gay men were some of the first to believe in my talent and uplift me. I do feel a responsibility to protect and preserve these communities on an ancestral level.”
Sheherazade Thenard was born in Queens, New York, and now lives and works in Miami, Florida. Their vibrant portraits are unique and eye-catching, drawing inspiration from Black feminist media as well as Afro-Caribbean symbolism and spiritual practices. Thenard’s work often explores their family’s assimilation between Martinique and the United States, their experiences as a Black queer artist in the American South, and their personal and familial interactions with colonialism, “To me this is important because we are a part of a bigger story, a story that defines not only who we are, but one that allows us to redefine what we could become.”. Nature and plants are significant motifs in their paintings, often as an environment housing Black figures, “Nature serves as a symbol that dually suggest entrapment and sanctuary from societal pressures. In older work I explore these ideas with figures at ease and are lost in thought as a form of escapism.”.
“When I began to make work about my identity it was a somewhat terrifying to be openly vulnerable about subject matters that are close to heart. When the work is culturally inclined or regarding race relations, it can be difficult to convey (especially in academic settings) your experience is different from others in the room and why it’s important to address. What helped me most was finding a community of artist and people who understood exactly where I came from”
Myesha Evon was born in Cleveland, Ohio and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She identifies herself as both a photographer and visual storyteller, focusing particularly on the stories of marginalized groups. Her work investigates and documents themes of legacy, labor, love, self-identity, beauty, and power in contemporary American society. Evon’s art radically examines the complex roles and identities of Black women, whom she feels are, “often stripped down to singular value”. Her commercial work with clients like Google, Target, Nike Jordan, and Christian Dior is influenced by both historical and modern expressions of culture. Evon emphasises the role of passion in creative success, “When you take a moment to sit down and really reflect on who you are and what you’re passionate about, it becomes a little bit easier to seed out everything else. Those things always pay off way more than any check that comes into your bank account.”.
“I think that it’s really a treasure to understand what control and power you have with people that are lens through your camera as a photographer. What traditional Notions you might be disrupting socially, creatively, spiritually, whatever…That to me is really powerful. And again, shows that diversity in the work, the diversity and perspectives, in how the beauty, and emotion, authenticity and body language can be articulated from a photographer’s perspective.”
Evon, Myesha. Untitled. 2020.
Evon, Myesha. Untitled. 2020.
Evon, Myesha. Untitled. 2020.
Evon, Myesha. Cover for Nicotine Magazine Issue 08. 2021.
Being Black at a Predominantly White Institution: A Story from Ijeoma Azuike
By Ariana Lopez Orellana
I first met Ijeoma at the age of thirteen, when we were both attending the same competitive and rigorous program that eventually helped us get into our respective private high schools. During this time, we both attended public middle schools (though COVID did make us go online for half of our seventh and eighth-grade years). There, Ijeoma was constantly surrounded by other Black students, teachers, and administrators. Even outside of school (in the program we both attended), she was able to share similar experiences with others and never worried about a lack of diversity or misrepresentation. This educational bubble was her safe space– one that she had never had to leave or experience without.
Ijeoma is now eighteen and a senior at The Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Massachusetts. Her school, like many private schools, is a predominantly white institution (PWI), where there might be a lack of diversity. With only 20 students in each grade, Ijeoma is one of the six Black students in the 12th grade. Going from a diverse public school to a PWI, she felt a big culture shock, “seeing a whole demographic that was the minority for the longest time becoming the majority was something I never experienced during my childhood.” Yet, she was able to adjust quickly to her new environment. “I think going to a small school helped a lot when it comes to meeting new people. I think I got to meet a lot of my new friends at the beginning of my freshman year, and I was also able to talk to leaders who were students of color through the affinity groups on campus.” While this was a new change in her life, Ijeoma’s meaningful interactions with other students, especially those who could relate to her, allowed her to feel like belonged and also allowed her to expand as a leader in her school. “Affinity and multicultural groups became impactful and inspired me to pursue leadership as a minority within a white space.”
Her school has created a safe space for minorities to feel like they belong. Not only through the affinity spaces but also through their curriculum. Ijeoma says, “I think, you know, the curriculum we currently have, has allowed us to immerse ourselves into different perspectives whether that be from reading different books with different origins, and authors who have different identities.” Students, from the ninth grade to twelfth grade, are encouraged to have open discussions about their personal experiences, identities, and those they are learning in class. This has shaped their education and expanded their perspectives apart from just focusing on a singular point of view.
For the last four years, Ijeoma and I have shared our experiences at our PWIs and have navigated through the different environments and situations we faced, from discrimination to celebrating going to the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) and other events relating to our identities. She is grateful for the experiences her school has provided her with and says that “there is this privilege that you carry, especially if your institution [just like hers] is very focused on having school-based conversations surrounding the political world because you don’t see [those conversations happening] in a lot of schools as of right now.” She aims to use her voice to learn and teach others about her experiences. To Ijeoma, being Black at a predominantly white institution has made her learn that “wherever you go if you’re going to be put on a white space, you need to be aware of your identity and know that even though you might stand out, that should not take away from who you are as an individual.”
My intention with this article is to shed light on the different perspectives there are on being Black through the story of my closest friend who attends a different all-girls institution. Not all stories are relatable, but my hope is for you to take this story with you and to have an open mind when learning about other perspectives. With the current world, all we can do is to try and make an impact, whether that is through enhancing DEI at our school or in your community, advocating for those who need it, or taking time to learn more about perspectives you have never listened to before.
Thank you and happy Black History Month!
The Beauty of Black Hair
By Benewa Donkor
Hair presents as a powerful way in which people can communicate, and express themselves freely and is a canvas for creativity. Black people have always used their hair in powerful ways. In early African civilizations, hairstyles could indicate a person’s family background, tribe, and social status. This is one of the reasons that during the Atlantic slave trade, hair was shaved, stripping African Americans of yet another form of agency.
During slavery, braids played a significant role for African Americans who were looking to run away. Slaves used cornrows to communicate escape routes through the secret patterns written throughout it. The patterns helped guide runaways as to which routes they should travel or avoid. Cornrows also served as a way for slaves to store small pieces of gold throughout their hair. This would be there to help them out after their escape.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Black hair served as a powerful way for African Americans to protest. The Afro became a symbol of rebellion, pride, and empowerment.” The natural hair movement began when people of African descent wanted to encourage others to feel at ease and comfortable when wearing their natural hair. This movement began mostly in the 60’s then resurged in the late 2000s and has become far more popular as time passes. A huge influence on this style was Cicely Tyson.
In the 1960’s while the Natural Hair Movement was taking place, many “black people felt pressure to fit in with mainstream white society and adjusted their hair accordingly” by using a relaxer because there were instances in which they had been discriminated against because of it, especially in schools. A relaxer is a type of lotion applied on hair in an attempt to make coily and curly hair more straight. This method can leave your hair straightened for about two to three months. While the invention of the relaxer is commonly associated with Madam CJ Walker, it was invented by Garrett Augustus Morgan. In the early 1900’s Madam CJ Walker started to grow her hair care line and became not only the first black female millionaire but the nation’s first female millionaire!
Morgan’s hair-pressing comb
Today, Black hair continues to be a powerful symbol of our heritage, personalities, agency and our complicated relationship with mainstream beauty standards.
Simone Biles - Sophia Seraile Yam Hewson, Georgie. “How Simone Biles Overcame ‘the Twisties’ to Compete for Olympic Gold.” ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2024, www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-30/what-are-twisties-and-how-did-simone-bilesget-them/104159056.
Ledet, Jovonne. “Black Athletes Who’ve Earned Medals at 2024 Paris Olympics: Bin: Black Information Network.” BIN, 9 Aug. 2024, www.binnews.com/content/2024-08-09-black-athletes-whove-earned-medalsin-2024-paris-olympics/.
“Simone Biles | Biography, Top Competition Results, Trophy Wins, and Medals.” Olympics.Com, www. olympics.com/en/athletes/simone-biles. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
“Simone Biles’s Impact on Global Mental Health Debate: What a Difference Three Years Make.” Olympics. Com, www.olympics.com/en/news/simone-biles-exclusive-mental-health-debate-gymnastics-jade-carey-jordan-chiles-ellie-black. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Black And African American Identities In Art - Georgia Achilles Lassien, Kasha. “Malcolm Marquez Brings Legendary Hair into the Future.” Submission Beauty, 25 July 2024, submissionbeauty.com/blogs/magazine/malcolm-marquez-brings-legendary-hair-into-the-future?srsltid=AfmBOorQt9sU04gd1CpvoB9pLoS87__ChHlEnUniva_esXynCeIycV2D. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
“Malcolm Marquez, Portfolio” OPUS Beauty, opusbeauty.com/artist/malcolm-marquez-hair/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
Marquez, Malcolm [@malcolm.marquez]. “@voguerunway Reunited on the runway with my @nosesso family. I feel so lucky to share space and create with people I love so much!! @pia__thedollbaby @mmmmylipshurt thank you for inspiring us”. Instagram, 10 September, 2024. https://www.instagram.com/p/CiVeodCOdOK/?img_index=1.
Marquez, Malcolm [@malcolm.marquez]. “GRAMMY GAL @doechii ❤❤❤ overflowing with love Blended waves with her braids using @tginatural”. Instagram, 2 February, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DFmTos4xu83/?img_index=1.
Marquez, Malcolm [@malcolm.marquez]. “Braided hats and veils for @aryeethegem ❤ “fwm” Styling @ styleisinyou Makeup @audurs Direction @directedbymom |@saintandcitizen Images @jasonrenaud”. Instagram, 1 May, 2024. https://www.instagram.com/p/C6caXwEvR31/?img_index=1.
Thenard, Sheherazade. Blue Bottle. 2023. Oil on canvas. 72 2/5 × 63 2/5 in. Chilli Art Projects, London. Thenard, Sheherazade. The Bluest Note. 2023. Oil on canvas. 59 1/10 × 64 1/5 in. Chilli Art Projects, London. Thenard, Sheherazade. A Spiders Wisdom. 2023. Oil on canvas. 59 1/10 × 63 in. Chilli Art Projects, London.
Bibliography:
The Beauty of Black Hair - Benewa Donkor Historical Significance of Black Hairstyles.Pptx, www.isbe.net/Documents/Historical-Significance-of-Black-Hairstyles.pdf. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.
Peebles, Nyah. “The Evolution of Black Hair .” HBCU Buzz, 2 Aug. 2024, hbcubuzz.com/80718/theevolution-of-black-hair/.
Jahangir, Rumeana. “How Does Black Hair Reflect Black History?” BBC News, BBC, 31 May 2015, www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-31438273.
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America, BlackPress of. “Black History Month 2025 We Proclaim It.” BlackPressUSA, January 31, 2025. https://blackpressusa.com/black-history-month-2025-we-proclaim-it/.
