Exclusive with Denise Bryers
Azizah Nubia Editor in Chief
Words From the Editor
Reality Show Natural Hair Controversy Reflexology 101 Business Tips 101
The Beauty Zone Natural Hair Zone The Big Chop
2018 is here and boy, the energy I feel from all the goodness this year is bringing is incredible. ELEVATION is the term I want to use to describe 2018, I chose this word because 2017 was the year we found our way and really got into focus what it is we are truly meant to be doing. Whether it is writing a new book, starting a new business or career. I want you to make 2018 the year you make your dreams a reality. I am excited to feature Denise Bryers for our 56th issue. She is a woman that we can look up to as an example of what we can do and become. All it takes is that ONE THOUGHT, PURPOSE and an undying drive to become the woman you DESTINED to become.
Tammarah Overton Chief of Beauty & Fashion AZ Media Photography/ Video Shanell Bowles Russell Front Cover Beauty & Hair Written Contributions Fatima Gaskins Nahamani Yisrael Joan Charles Marketing & Promotion AZ Media
1. Make a Plan Make a list of your favorite healthy foods, choose simple recipes that can be made quickly or in bulk, and decide what you’ll eat for every snack and meal. 2. Stick to Your Grocery List Don’t let junk food sneak into your shopping cart. Not having it in the house means not having to use your willpower to avoid it. Want to make an impulse purchase? If you can find a way to fit it into your eating plan for the week, go for it. Just keep these to a minimum so nothing goes to waste. By sticking to your list and by minimizing the impulse buys, you’ll help yourself save money. 3. Keep Snacks Simple
Meal Prepping Made Easy Staying in shape and eating healthy can be a difficult task when you are on the go. But with good planning and strategy eating healthy meals can be a breeze. Try these 5 east tips to help you plan healthy meals even when your time is limited.
When you’re cooking everything for the week at once, it’s important to keep things simple. Save time by choosing snacks that don’t require a lot of time to put together. Fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and pre-cut veggies with prepared hummus are great choices. 4. Cook Foods All At Once Roasting vegetables, sweet potatoes, and even chicken breasts all at once will save you time, and cut down on your utility bill. Imagine…all of your side dishes for the week…ready in about 30 minutes! 5. Invest in Food Storage Containers A small investment in food containers of various sizes to suit your needs will make a world of difference. It’s a good idea to choose one container type and buy several that stack and store neatly. If you choose plastic containers, make sure they are BPA-free and that they won’t melt in the microwave or dishwasher. Sturdy Pyrex dishes with lids are also great as are Mason jars. If you decide to go all-in on the meal prep lifestyle, you might want to think about getting an insulated bag to carry your meals everywhere you go.
family. After attending Thomas More College at night to get her bachelor’s degree in business. She graduated, she got a job at the Procter & Gamble Co. She worked For P&G for nearly four years before she realized that wasn’t her dream. Working as a single mother with 3 children created tons of stress leading Denise to overeat and gain weight.
Dream Chasers: Denise Bryers By: Azizah Nubia
A Natural Woman is a woman who can transform her reality to match her hearts desires. She is not afraid to go outside of the box to make change in her world. This all holds true to Fitness Trainer, Entrepuener and the owner/ founder of The Cincinnati Boot Camp Fitness Center Denise Bryers. Denise’s journey is an inspirational journey that will motivate anyone to do what needs to be done
to transform and own their reality no matter what life throws their way. Denise was left to raise her 3 young children on her own after her husband was sent to prison. She had to depend on public assistance something she dreded , but needed inorder to support her family. Determined not to be on welfare for too long Denise invested in herself to aquire the skills she needed to find a job to support her
Inspired by her daughter who began taking her health and fitness more sersiously. Denise started going to the gym and before her eyes she began transform, “I started losing weight, and I said, ‘you know what, I love this! “I talked to one of the trainers, and said, ‘I really want to become a personal trainer, ” and The Cincinnati Boot Camp was born. Following her inner calling Bryers got her certification and began training clients. By 2014, she was a full-time personal trainer and fitness professional, hosting boot camps all over the city. Leading her to take another step towards her calling with the opening of her gym -Bootcamp Cincinnati -- in North College Hill. Transformation has become Bryers’ calling. .When asked what’s next for Denise and The Cincinnati Boot Camp. Denise simply replied “The sky is the limit. Women like Denise are amazing exapmles that no matter how far we think we are from living our dream, we can make them a reality.
Be Successful: Running a small business is reality for many of today’s women. Statistics show that women-owned businesses employ 16% of the U.S. Workforce1. Whether you are a full time entrepreneur or your business is an added revenue stream (aka side hustle), you’ve likely put in endless hours in an effort to turn your entrepreneurship dreams into a reality. In the early stages you wrote a kickass business plan, registered your business with the secretary of state, invested time and capital securing your businesses’ inventory, location as well as the time it takes to recruit, train and manage your key personnel. A few years in and you may start to realize that things are not necessarily going as planned. You are not alone. Many entrepreneurs hit a rough patch around their 2nd or 3rd year in business. Figuring out how to fix the issues your business is facing during this critical stage can be emotionally taxing and time consuming. Face it, you’re busy operating your business, filling customer orders, managing staff and keeping your inventory levels just right. You don’t want to see your business go under and you definite-
Business Tips for the Natural Woman with Nahamani Yisrael ly aren’t about to throw in the towel after you’ve invested your blood, sweat and tears but you are not quite sure what to do next! The most logical way to save your business is to hire a management consultant, to step in and help you get to the root cause of your issues. A professionally trained management consultant such as Nahamani Yisrael, founder of Nahamani.org, can use their expertise and objective point of view to truly see what is causing your businesses’ performance gap. Nahamani Yisrael studied Business Management at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio where she graduated Cum Laude with her BSBA. Additionally she grew up in an environment that fostered entrepreneurship and has owned and operated her own business for nearly 20 years. Her unique ability to diagnose your company’s issues by looking at its organizational structure, operating procedures, management style and the external business environment, including the ever-changing needs of your target customers,
can be just what your business needs to make it through this rough patch. Can I afford to hire a management consultant, you may ask. The real question is, can you afford not to hire someone who can help you save your business. Working with a consultant is a wise investment; strategically designed to protect your overall investment of money, time and lost sleep that you can never recoup! Nahamani.org’s services are more affordable than you may think. Nahamani Yisrael has tailored her service offerings to the specific needs of businesses like yours. She understands that there is no one-size-fits-all remedy to rescuing a business in distress. Whether your company is looking to fix a common problem, such as increasing your market share or is in need of a complex overhaul, Yisrael has a solution that you will find to be a perfect fit. The best part is that the solutions designed by Nahamani.org actually work. Her track record of helping business owner, non-profit agencies and government entities speaks volumes about her ability to pinpoint the problem and design interventions that address the problem in a holistic and comprehensive manner. Nahamani doesn’t just tell you how to fix your problems and walk away. She works with your organization to help implement and institutionalize the strategic changes in an effort to ensure that the key stakeholders do not revert back to the same old practices that initially caused the performance issue. Interested in learning more about how Nahamani. org can help save your business, you can reach out to her directly by phone at 513-917-3959, by email at ny@nahamani.org or through social media @ nahamaniyisrael. Her website, www.nahamani.org, offers additional ways to contact Nahamani and is available around the clock. If you are truly passionate about saving your business and want to see your business around for generations to come, you will contact Nahamani Yisrael today!
Nahamani D. Yisrael Consultant | Facilitator | Webmaster P. 513-917-3959 E. ny@nahamani.org www.nahamani.org
Oprah is First African-American Women to Win Cecil B. Demille Award at the Golden Globes; Delivers Historic Speech Oprah Winfrey wore an all black couture gown, showing her support for the #WhyWeWearBlack campaign to accept the Cecil B. Demille Award at the 75th Golden Globe Awards Ceremony. An award where she is the first African-American Female recipient of the award, Oprah used the Golden Globe platform to address racial inequality, sexual misconduct, and gender power Imbalance in the workplace with a powerful speech proclaiming a new horizon is on the brink for us all. Using the #TIMESUP and #MeToo hashtags in her prolific passion filled acceptance speech. Oprah showed her support of all victims of racial injustice, sexual harassment and gender imbalance by not only addressing the victims that we know about but the victims that we do not know. Oprah’s historic speech couldn’t have come at a more perfect, where we are experiencing a power
shift among men and women in the entertainment industry. Even as a nation, as we maneuver through the horrific nightmare of the Trump Administration. Her speech gave many a warm blanket of inspiration to never be afraid to speak their truth and that a new day is on the horizon. Her speech even left many questioning whether she should run for president in the 2020 presidential election. According to many on social media, she absolutely should.
Historic Black Women’s Essence Returns Back to The Community with Black Ownership Again Essence Communications Inc. is back in the hands of black owners. The 48-year-old multi-platform brand that owns Essence magazine and the annual Essence Festival, been acquired by Essence Ventures LLC, an independent African-American-owned company, which was founded and is chaired by Liberian-American Richelieu Dennis, who also is the founder of SheaMoisture. As reported earlier by Journal-isms for The Root, the Essence brand was not part of the historic, nearly $3 billion sale of Time Inc. to the Meredith Corp. in November 2017. The brand was looking for another buyer and has apparently found one with Essence Ventures, which was founded and is chaired by Liberian-American Richelieu Dennis, who also is the founder of SheaMoisture. “[W]e are excited to be able to return this culturally relevant and historically significant platform to ownership by the people and the
consumers whom it serves, and offer new opportunities for the women leading the business to also be partners in the business,” said Dennis of the Essence brand acquisition. Essence’s executive team consists entirely of black women. Essence President Michelle Ebanks will continue at the helm of the company and will join its board of directors; she will also have an equity stake in the business. “This acquisition of Essence represents the beginning of an exciting transformation of our iconic brand as it evolves to serve the needs and interests of multi-generational black women around the world in an even more elevated and comprehensive way across print, digital, e-commerce and experiential platforms,” said Ebanks. “In addition, it represents a critical recognition, centering and elevation of the black women running the business from solely a leadership position to a co-ownership position.”
Dr. Boyce Watkins Banned From UCLA Dr. Boyce Watkins was disinvited to speak at UCLA Saturday morning. He was a panelist at ‘A Social Justice Conversation’ a UCLA event that featured a conversation with Common and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “Apparently, my views are inconsistent with the views of the UBAA brand.” Dr. Boyce Watkins was scheduled to join a powerhouse panel discussion that included himself, Dr. Kelly Lytle-Hernandez, Interim Director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, and Dr. Tyrone Howard of Black Male Institute. Watkins was invited to come speak at the UCLA event months ago, but upon arrival, he was disinvited by members of the UCLA Black Alumni Association.They informed Watkins that he would not be joining the panel discussion because his views were “inconsistent with the views of the UBAA” according to an open statement from Dr. Watkins informing his following that he would not be speaking at UCLA. “This is one of the reasons why I don’t speak much on college campuses. My idea of black economic empowerment, particularly being inde-
pendent of white supremacist liberal or conservative ideologies does not sit well with some people in the establishment. The arrogance of white supremacy often leads those in these institutions to feel black men should be honoured when we are invited into their institutions to speak. Sorry, but I never was that negro.” Watkins stated in his open letter addressing the disinvite. Watkins also released the video below addressing what happened and how he will be taking legal action against the institution. Watkins stated in the video that he is not mad that he was disinvited. He is just upset that UCLA invited him and allowed him to promote the event for months to his million+ following only to turn around and be disinvited because of his views.
Love & Hip Hop Miami Premiered with a Huge Natural Hair Controversy Season 1 of LHHMIA introduced us to some new faces as well as some very familiar faces in hip-hop. The 24 member cast is one of the largest cast groups the franchise has seen. A few of the cast members made their first appearances in the first episode they included; Trick Daddy, Trina, Amara La Negra, Shay Johnson, Pleasure P, Gunplay, Bobby Lytes, Veronica Vega, Christopher “Prince” Michael Harty, Jojo Zarur, and Young Hollywood. Episode one of LHHM had us all excited to see the Queen of Miami Hip Hop Trina and hip-hop legend Trick Daddy. We are interested in seeing what their life is like and how LHHM will add to their already successful musical careers. Not to mention all the family drama that seems to be brewing with a fellow cast member, openly gay, rap artist and first cousin of Trina Bobby Lytes. And the relationship drama between Trick Daddy and his wife who is also the cousin of Trina. Episode 1 also reintroduced us to Pleasure P of the R&B group Pretty Ricky and his new love interest Shay Johnson who we all know from Flava of love and the ex-flame of LHHATL Lil’ Scrappy. The two lovers are growing through the grooves of building a deeper relationship while Pleasure P tries and resurrect his former musical group, Pretty Ricky.
And we all finished the episode feeling a certain kind of way about Young Hollywood and his comments concerning natural hair. The famed producer who Afro-Latina music artist Amara La Negra was looking to work with for her next American music project. The newly signed artist who just signed a multi-album record deal with Fast Life Entertainment Worldwide and BMG, was insulted by Young Hollywood’s distasteful comments concerning her hair. “We need to change the way you look,” the tatted out music pro tells La Negra. “You need to think a little more Beyonce and a little less Macy Grey. You need to lose the afro.” “Does that mean that you don’t think a woman can be sexy with an afro? In case you didn’t know I am also part black,” she railed back. “I wanted a producer I could work with and do business with.” La Negra is getting support for her style of choices on social media, with many viewers calling YH a “racist” and ignorant about his own Latin background. Since the last episode YH has recieved tons of backlash on social media including death threats . Maybe next time he will choose his words wisely.
Who says natural hair isn’t versatile without heat? Check out these protective styles for all of the naturalistas out there.
Roller Styles Naturalistas, flexi rods are your friends. There are so many cute possibilities to try. This style also works best on wet hair!
The Head-wrap
Crochet Styles Unlike extended braids and twists, with crochet styles, none of your hair is exposed. The cornrows underneath the style you choose will protect your hair from being tugged at or broken off. This style is also extremely versatile.
The Twist-out
The Pompadour
This style works best right after the shower. Find your favorite natural hair mousse and throw in some simple two-strand twists. Either sit under an overhead dryer until your hair is dry or throw on a bonnet and go to bed so that you can wake up and slay, honey.
Janelle Monáe would be so proud. This no-heat style is perfect for a glam night out.
The possibilities are endless. Check out a naturalista YouTube tutorial to find out how to create the perfect look.
The “Roll and Tuck” It’s simple and it’s cute. If you need a quick and easy style to throw in your hair before your 8 a.m. class, this is the look for you.
1. Extended Braids and Twists Add some braiding hair or Marley hair to your box braids, Havana twists, Senegalese twists, Poetic Justice braids or whatever other style of braids or twists you desire. They all protect your hair from heat and breakage for up to three months AND they’re versatile. The “Pineapple”
Bantu Knots
The ‘Fro
Looking for something cute and funky? Put that curling iron back under the sink. Bantu knots are the style for you. You can keep them knotted or un-knot them for a cute bouncy look.
The key to keeping your ‘fro looking Let a few curls rest on your spectacular all day long is moisture. forehead for a cute natural hair Find a good leave-in conditioner styled bang. for natural hair and don’t forget that coconut oil.
Non-extended Braids and Twists Once you’re about six-eight months into your natural hair journey, you can begin braiding and twisting your hair into whatever style you wish. The possibilities are endless and none of them require heat!