7 minute read
Lora McClain Muhammad
By Jalessa Rogers Photos by Lora McClain-Muhammad
Growing up as a black child in America, there is and will always be a need for positive black representation. Author Lora McClain-Muhammad has found the perfect way to show that. She has created coloring books that are the perfect representation for young African American boys and girls to learn and become comfortable in their own skin.
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Born and raised in Gary, IN, this former Fortune 500 sales and marketing manager did not dream of becoming an author. Her journey is what she describes in her own words as something that “God kept nudging her to do.”
It all began shortly after graduating from high school. The path she chose was one similar to as one that a lot of members of her family took, entering the corporate world. Instead of attending college, she decided to take an opportunity presented to her. First she took a test, gained a company’s interest with her gift of gab, and would eventually become a sales and marketing manager, enjoying a career that would span for almost 30 years.
Although she was very occupied with corporate America, she was still able to further her education and attend Park College while in her thirties. These were modest steps that would soon connect the dots of her career as an author.
“Becoming an author was a surprise journey for me and nothing that I even envisioned. However, when my granddaughter was born, I was given a vision to write a coloring book. Representation matters and I wanted my granddaughter to see a book that looks like her,” stated McClain-Muhammad. After
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being given this vision, she went on to create the “I Need You to Know” series with the first coloring book being titled “I Need You to Know the ABCs of Black Girl Magic” with her granddaughter as the cover image. Her second coloring book is titled I Need “You to Know the ABCs of a Young Kings Greatness” with another one that followed titled, “I Need You to Know #You Matter”. Despite the naysayers that tried to discourage her from this journey she was able to sell over 30,000 books and depicted members of her family as the images throughout her collection. For Lora, it was all about finding her purpose in life. “I found my purpose and my calling doing these books. I’m happier and I feel freer than I’ve ever been. Nothing is better than seeing the smile on the little children’s faces during book signings or hearing them say ‘hey that looks like me” because they genuinely love the book,” she expressed.
Since the world changed because of COVID-19, she has not been able to do in person book signings. However, she found a safe way to continue to tour and reach a broader audience. “I came up with a virtual book tour, along with five other African American women authors. We were able to reach children a lot further, virtually than in person. During these times of social injustice and unrest, I think that it’s a timely piece to show that representation does matter to our kids. Even more, they need to see themselves depicted beautifully. We address these issues with the release of “I Need You to Know...#You Matter,” explained McClain- Muhammad.
Lora is an indie author, and will be celebrating her two year book anniversary this May. Her books are currently available on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, and BAM. h
Evonne Hardee
Soapsation Bathtique
By Arielle Kilgore Photos by Evonne Hardee
Being all-natural has not proven to be a trend, but a way of life for most people. Evonne Hardee and her business SoapSation Bathtique in New York caters to having everything natural so your skin can be the best of the best.
A native of Yonkers, Evonne started her business on faith and determination. Today, it continues to operate on the very same foundation. SoapSation Bathtique is an all-natural body store that specializes in making organic products for the skin. Hardee also makes gift baskets full of bath bombs and goodie bags for catered events like baby showers or birthday parties. Her best seller includes a honey oat milk soap that helps with dry skin or individuals who have eczema. Other products include body oils, cupcake soaps, and facial soaps. Everything is made by hand herself and is specialized to the customer’s needs and wants.
“I do everything myself. It’s my therapy. It’s my happy place. I can make soap in my sleep. It’s just second nature to me at this point,” she shares.
Evonne started her business by giving out soap and other products to her family and friends. Her party favors turned into a business in 2016. “At some point, I decided to let me stop what I’m doing and revamp what I’m doing so I can really turn it into a business,” Evonne explains. Likewise, the same year Hardee became homeless. Her determination for creating products and passion for making more effective skin care drove her to keep going. “It was a struggle, but I kept it going. And I overcame anything that was in the road to stop me,” she says. From then on, the number of batches she produced turned from once a week, into six batches a week for her growing, hungry customers. Having something real is important to Hardee. She was always a nature girl and experimental when she was young growing her passion for chemistry and the science behind beautiful skin from Earth’s properties. Research, time, and passion have driven her business and provide her with sustainability. Hardee explains that YouTube and other quick sources are not the keys to a growing business. Dedication and persistence plus engaging with your clients can determine how successful you are going to be. The hobby she formed brought her peace and fortunately helped many people feel amazing about their skin.
Although Covid-19 proved to be a challenging year for smaller businesses, SoapSation Bathtique rose to the top. Her secret? Covid provided a better connection between Hardee and her clients. It allowed her to focus on the specific needs of her customers with skin problems and show people the light of using things from mother nature to heal your skin. “Everything that you need for your skin is actually here on Earth. Like it’s in your garden. It’s everywhere. There are so many natural oils plants, stuff that you can use to moisturize and cleanse and take better care of your skin,” Evonne says.
Most of the products on the shelves have emollients and chemicals that can erode your skin or make skin issues worse, specifically in African American communities. These chemicals can cause irritation to the skin and increase the problems that we already have. Representation matters in the black community. It is the ability to have options and those options be safe and effective.
As an African American woman, it was important for Evonne have a business that her community could trust and also see progress. Black communities, especially in starting or growing businesses, experience culticutlure, the annihilation of businesses that carry the same product. The idea of culticutlure can spread doubt and fear of multiple successful black businesses. However, Hardee stands by keeping your dream alive so other people like us can have options and obtain a better lifestyle.
“We need something to help sustain us. To sustain our natural beauty,” she says. It does not matter where you start, she explains the necessity to keep going through hard times. “And you have to understand that there will be hard times, but if you’re passionate enough about it, you’ll overcome those hard times. There’s nothing that we can’t do!” Evonne continues to grow her business with pop-up events starting in New Jersey in June of this year. Providing consistent and quality customer service remains to be one of her highest priorities. You can learn more about Evonne and many of the wonderful products she creates by visiting her website. h
