Beauty for me is freedom, its laughter, its dancing. I believe a person is at their most beautiful when they are their most authentic selves. I think when I was younger I probably thought about beauty in more traditional terms.

It’s September, which is the perfect time to delve into a book by bell hooks. The Black feminist literary legend was born on September 25th. If you’re a fan of Black feminist literature and you haven’t read Sister of the Yam, what are you waiting for? You can join the Spoken Black Girl Community and read in community!

Reclaiming softness is how I compensate myself for the years where I was unnecessarily hard, when I put myself in situations to experience roughness. I forgive my past self, and I grant her the rest she didn’t think she deserved.

While sitting with these quotes, I realized that I’m grateful for every woman who ever took the time to care for herself, and love herself even if that’s not what she was taught growing up. So many of the writers below echo the sentiment that mothers are out first mirrors, the individuals who teach us how to love.

As the summer months roll in, let’s celebrate Vitamin D3 season! Our bodies naturally generate vitamin D3 when we get lots of sunlight, but did you know that melanated folks tend to produce less D3? Fortunately, Black Girl Vitamins has a supplement that gives us our full daily dose of D3 every day, rain or shine!

Today we’re talking to actress, producer, and multitalented creative, Andrea Lewis. Andrea Lewis is the Executive Producer of The Black Beauty Effect on Netflix.