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2014
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VOLUME 45 | NUMBER 4
CONTENTS
78 BUILDING A BRIGHT
FUTURE Editor-in-Chief Vanessa K. Bush
traveled to the White House for an exclusive one-onone with First Lady Michelle Obama about our mutual
quest to get parents and students to reach even higher
84 MOMS ON THE
FRONT LINES Meet six dedicated
parents striving to ensure that all children receive
a quality education By Donna M. Owens
88 THE SECRETS TO RAISING

REALLY SMART KIDS Surprisingly,
helping your child excel academically means you both must
put in work outside the classroom, even before schooling
commences By Jeannine Amber
94 JUMP INTO
YOUR DREAMS
Comedy king and author Steve Harvey teamed up with

breakthrough queen Lisa Nichols to break down the
steps to achieving what you desire By Tamara E. Holmes
98 REMEMBERING
MAYA ANGELOU
NICHOL AS ROUTZEN
Editors, poets, friends and other warrior women

reect on the life, powerful words and precious
gift of the original phenomenal woman
ON THE COVER Photography by

Kwaku Alston. Hairstylist, Johnny
Wright. Makeup artist, Carl Ray.
Prop stylist, Dorcia Kelley. Mrs.
Obama wears an Azede JeanPierre dress, Michael Kors brooch
and her own jewelry. ON THIS
PAGE Actress Tika Sumpter wears
a Givenchy bustier and skirt, Alexis
Bittar ring, Anndra Neem cuf and
Salvatore Ferragamo boots. For
details, see Where to Buy.
10
18
130
132
134
|
|
|
|
|
In Every Issue
Lets Talk
In-Box/Contributors
Where to Buy
Horoscope
Perspective Columnist
Melissa Harris-Perry
offers an alternate
definition of success
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AUGUST 2014 ESSENCE .COM 7
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CONTENTS
Style
21 | REWORK YOUR DENIM

Cute ways you can recast this
casual fabric for the office
24 | STREET STYLE A nationwide

parade of jeans culture
26 | TRUE BLUES While strolling

through NYCs Central Park,
actress Tika Sumpter showcases how chic and fashionable denim can be
Beauty&Hair
35 | ALL CLEAR
Expert advice on
preventing and resolving
irksome Black skin woes
42 | SMOOTH OPERATORS
Goodies that will have your
whole body glowing
44 | COLOR THEORY
78
Spruce
up your do with whimsical,
no-commitment hues
The First
Lady has a
bright outlook
for the next
generation.
48 | NATURAL NEWS
Tips
to repair dull, frizzy
and dry strands
Scene
50 | HER SONG
Ex-Floetry
songstress Marsha Ambrosius
returns with new sounds sure
to delight fans
52 | ENTERTAINMENT
James
Brown gets the big-screen
treatment, Halle returns to
the tube and some hip-hop
pioneers hit the stage
54 | BOOKS
Our resident reviewer

shares a special offering for
Black boys (and girls)
Issues
60 | TEN THINGS WERE

TALKING ABOUT
Examining failures
of the past, NAACPs Sherrilyn
Ifill argues that integrating
public schools is the key to
moving forward
8 ESSENCE .COM AUGUST 2014
ESSENCE salutes the determination of two sisters-in-law

who are on a mission to find
our lost loved ones
Money&Power
69 | FIND CASH FOR COLLEGE

Getting accepted into a
university is just the
beginning. Heres how you
can meet the costs and
graduate without the debt
74 | ON THE JOB
Actions speak
as loud as your words when
youre on the clock
Sex&Love
107 | A LEGACY OF LOVE

The youngest child of Dr.
King talks about the impact
her famous family has had
on her romantic prospects
and reputation
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Healthy&Happy
111 | BEAT THE ENERGY
DRAIN If youre always

running out of steam, you
may be suffering from
more than a lack of sleep
114 | SPIRITUALITY
Three
ladies instruct us on
how to come back from
grief and heartache in
triumphant form
Life
121 | SUMMER ENTERTAINING

SIMPLIFIED Your soirees
can be saucy and cool with

easy dips, yummy sundaes
and customized cocktails
126 | PARENTING
Five fun
and frugal ways to keep
your children active and
actively learning while
schools out
K WAKU ALSTON
64 | SHARE
66 | MISSING WHILE BLACK
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LETS TALK : A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
WHERE
SMART
STARTS
According to the
Department of Educations Civil Rights
Data Collection, our
students represent 18
percent of preschool
enrollment
hen I recently sat down
yet account for 48 perwith First Lady Michelle
cent of the preschool
Obama at the White House, students suspended
she quickly opened up about her pas- more than once. The
sion for education. In fact, Mrs. Obama
same report noted
shared that some of the most valuable
that Black high
lessons she learnedgrowing up in
school students
Chicagowereat home during conhave diminished
versations she and her brother, Craig,
access to the full range
had with their parents. In our interview
of college preparatory
Building a Bright Future (page 78),
courses (57 percent versus
she encourages us all to deepen our
71 percent for Whites). In light
engagement in young peoples educaof these statistics, where do we begin?
tional experiences, both in school and
In this issue we present solutions
at home.As a mother of two, I know
including those from real-life moms
that the stakes have never been higher
who are active participants in their
for the next generation.
childrens education. After all, where
does smart start? It begins at home.

It certainly did for me.Even now
when I visit my parents, I know Ill nd
stacks of newspapers and magazines
and my moms latest must-read book
on the kitchen table. Ourhousehold not
only valued reading but we also
valued the learning that can
happen as we discussed
ideas our reading material
had sparked.Id love to
hear what youre doing to
put education rst in your
kids lives. Write to me,
and your best tips may be
shared in a future issue.
Stay in touch,
Where does smart

start? It begins
at home.
LOOK FOR THESE ICONS TO ENJOY OUR DIGITAL CONTENT:

TABLET
& PHONE
SOCIAL MEDIA
VIDEO
Editor-in-Chief
Twitter: @Vanessa_KBush
Facebook: Facebook.com/vkbush1
Instagram: vanmommy
E-mail: Vanessa@essence.com
MAYA ANGELOU
ON NEWSSTANDS
SPECIAL TRIBUTE
On May 28, 2014, we learned the sad
news that Dr. Maya Angelou had made her
transition, peacefully, in her sleep. Though
she was in frail health over the past few years,
it was her voiceunique, poetic, reliable
that continued to inspire and comfort us. In
her 86 years, Marguerite Johnson had lived
a dozen lifetimes. She transcended race and
gender yet always felt comfortable in her
skin as a Black woman. At the time I Know
Why the Caged Bird Sings was published
in 1969, four African-American men were
NOW
planning to put out a publication for Black

women. When ESSENCE launched a year
later, one of its earliest champions was
Angelou. She wholeheartedly embraced our
mission and contributed to the magazine
time and time again. Whenever her work
appeared in an issue, she lifted us up even
higher and took us to unexpected emotional
spaces. To celebrate Angelou, ESSENCE has
produced Maya Angelou: Her Phenomenal
Life & Poetic Journey, which is available in
bookstores and on newsstands now.
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OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO, CH UCK KEN N EDY. ANG ELOU, AP PHOTO.
WEB
VANESSA K. BUSH
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promotion
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editor-in-Chief Vanessa K. Bush
CreAtiVe direCtor Erika N. Perry

deputy mAnAging editor Dawnie Walton
editoriAl projeCts direCtor Patrik Henry Bass
BeAuty & style

BeAuty & style direCtor Pamela Edwards Christiani
BeAuty editor Nykia D. Spradley
AssoCiAte mArket editor Rneise Francis fAshion AssistAnt Bettina Prophete
ContriButing BeAuty AssistAnt Andrea Jordan
depArtments
entertAinment direCtor Cori Murray
senior editor, heAlth & relAtionships Sharon Boone
senior editor, personAl finAnCe & CAreers Tanisha A. Sykes
news editor Lauren N. Williams
relAtionships editor Charreah K. Jackson
west CoAst editor Regina R. Robertson
editoriAl AssistAnt Sylvia Obell
ContriButors
editor-At-lArge Mikki Taylor
ContriButing writers Jeannine Amber, Melissa Harris-Perry
Art
Art direCtor Ronda Thompson
AssoCiAte Art direCtor Rashida Morgan-Brown
ContriButing AssoCiAte Art direCtor Nathan Taylor
Art/photo produCtion CoordinAtor Raquel Boler
photo
photo direCtor Andrea M. Jackson
AssoCiAte photo editor Tracey Woods
editoriAl produCtion
editoriAl operAtions direCtor Denolyn Carroll
produCtion mAnAger Carina A. Rosario
produCtion designer Dawn Abbott
Copy & reseArCh

deputy Copy Chief Grace White
reseArCh Chief Akkida McDowell
AdministrAtion
exeCutiVe AssistAnt to the editor-in-Chief Gwen Epps
editoriAl Business CoordinAtor Rorna Richards Dinnoo
essenCe.Com
exeCutiVe editor Abby West
deputy editor Steven Psyllos
relAtionships editor Charli Penn entertAinment editor Yolanda Sangweni
fAshion editor Celia Smith BeAuty & hAir editor Deena Campbell
photo editor Michael Rowe ContriButing BeAuty editor Crystal Martin
pArtnerships editor Charlise Ferguson
VideogrApher Jay Sansone
informAtion teChnology
Cto & exeCutiVe ViCe-president Colin Bodell
ViCe-presidents Neil Bailey, Agatha M. Cutrone, Abe Cytryn,
Jonathan Fein, Robert Ferreira, Amanda Hanes,

Leon Misiukiewicz, Ben Ramadan, Scott Smith, Jimmie Tomei
Black GIRls Run
reseArCh Center
direCtor Cline Wojtala
Join Black Girls RUN!

in Atlanta for the 2014 Sweat
With Your Sole Festival,
September 4-7!
Register to attend!
reseArCh liBrAriAns Jane Bealer, Margery Frohlinger, Patrick Yang

mediA & distriBution CoordinAtor David Barbee
reseArCh AssistAnt Ean Sheehy
time inC.
Chief Content offiCer Norman Pearlstine
printed in the u.s.A.
sweatwithyoursole.com
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12 essence .com AUGUST 2014
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Ultra Flexible
meets
Unstoppable
president Michelle Ebanks
Hold
Shine!
associate publisher, sales Kim Huey-Steiner

general manager Joy A. Profet
general manager, digital Toni Ann Demonte

Vice-president, Finance Maria Tucci Beckett
director, public relations Dana Baxter
adVertising sales
Western sales director Haydn Wright midWest sales director Paul Johnson
detroit sales manager Barbara Zaltz
account directors Patricia Aguayo, Danielle M. Brown, Chauncie Burton,
Kendra Cassidy, Kim Smith, Colette Yorrick-Womack

adVertising coordinator Linda Cochran
marKeting
senior director, marKeting Cassandre Pierre
creatiVe director Allyson Brown art director Anna Yakhnich
promotion director Fred Jackson executiVe director, eVent marKeting Ray Kurdziel
special projects director Candace Purdie Montgomery
associate special eVents director Jovanca Maitland-Shelton
liVe eVents
director, national sponsorships Staci Hallmon-Bazzani
associate director, sponsorships sales Anika D. Grant
senior sponsorship actiVation manager Tanya Gunther
director, Finance & operations Stephanie Perry
assistant manager, talent/liVe eVents Zenab Abdill
production
Vice-president, operations Tom Colaprico
group maKeup & positioning manager Arleen OBrien production manager Jamie Elliott
maKeup & positioning manager Mirlaine Brice ad production specialist Luis Jimenez
imaging director Richard Prue imaging manager Hubert Lau
imaging production managers Romeo Cifelli, Jef Ingledue
imaging tablet specialists Alicia Capazzi, Sabrina Italiano
consumer marKeting & reVenue

Vice-president, consumer marKeting Ann Marie Doherty
Vice-president, retail marKeting Eric Szegda
directors Stephen Mastrocola, Barbara Venturelli, Mark Walter
senior manager Amy Mandelbaum
managers Heather Christianson, Claudia Garay
associate manager Christina Mejia
marKeting assistants Katherine Cabe, Heba Elghobashy
administration
public relations manager Sheila Harris
legal counsel Amy Glickman human resources Kate Weiss
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associate marKeting director Jocelyn Langevine
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senior manager, sales planning Christine Vianna

manager, sales deVelopment Elosi Ikharo manager, sales planning Jolene Crixell
associate publisher Anne Toal
business oFFice
executiVe directors Don Lichter, Andrew Weissman, Wynne Wong
director Sherry Wolfe associate directors Melinda Pollard, Brad Scharf, Kerry Winn
managers Dave Hooks, Brian Trombley
analYsts Meredith Durant, Julianne McGee
time inc. branded solutions

senior Vice-president & general manager, adVertising & branded solutions Andy Blau
senior Vice-president & marKeting & sales deVelopment Priya Narang
Vice-president Dave Watt Vice-president, creatiVe director Cara Deoul Perl
Vice-president, marKeting & sales deVelopment Mary Haskin
Vice-president, database marKeting Mary Wojciechowski
Vice-president, adVertising products & solutions Steve Cambron
Vice-president, Finance Lori Dente Vice-president, digital Dan Realson
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chieF executiVe oFFicer Joseph Ripp
executiVe Vice-presidents Jef Bairstow, Lynne Biggar, Colin Bodell, Teri Everett,
Mark Ford, Greg Giangrande, Lawrence A. Jacobs, Todd Larsen, Evelyn Webster
essence coFounder Edward Lewis
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14 essence .com AUGUST 2014
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i became a maternal
health advocate the
day i became a mom.
Christy turlington Burns
Maternal Health Advocate and
Founder of Every Mother Counts
Hundreds of thousands of women and girls around the world die every year from complications in pregnancy
or childbirth, creating a rippling effect that devastates children, families, and communities. ninety percent of
these deaths are preventablewith your help. to make a donation or learn more about how to get involved,
visit everymothercounts.org.
EtErnity Calvin Klein is a proud supporter of Every Mother Counts through the #EtErnityProject.
the #EtErnityProject fosters the message of eternal love through the support of philanthropic
endeavors to better the lives of individuals and communities.
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IN-BOX
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Oh, to have been a y on
that wall.
Leslie M. Harden,
Irmo, SC
Princes fro on the cover
just gave me a week of life!
@Ms_Andrews,
via Twitter
Readers overwhelmingly loved

the behind-the-music experience that Essence Fest headliner and cover subject Prince
gave us in our June 2014 issue.
Still Royal
Writer Cheo Hodari Coker

made me think I was
actually at the after-party
during the entire time.
Just as You Are
Vanessa Bushs Tune In

to a Diferent Beat Within
showed that being true
to myself is the best gift
I could ever give. In my
thirties I realized I had to
let go of individuals who
do not embrace me. I have
learned to love who I am.
Im okay if people dont
get me.
Jai Joseph,
Henderson, NV
Black Men in Hollywood

was a beautiful, unexpected spread. I nearly lit
up when I saw it. It was an
excellent way to pay homage to the unsung talents
of Tinseltown.
Keishas Page,
via Facebook
Victorious
The trio of ladies featured

in Cancer Warriors and
others like them who still
have courage, strength
and humor after ghting
such a horrible disease are
some of the real heroes in
this world. I salute them!
SaBrina Henry,
Las Vegas
These brave and beautiful
women are simply amazing. They laughed in spite
of the pain and became
stronger. They never gave
up hope that their bodies
would be healed. I am in
awe and inspired.
Sandra Bridges,
via Facebook
The Travelers
I had never thought of

Dubai as a vacation destination until I read Sherri
Crawfords travel story

[Just Back From...]. Now
its on my bucket list.
Valerie Ann LunsfordWinbush,
Roxboro, NC
Family Guy
Your Happy at Home article on Amare Stoudemire,

his wife, Alexis, and their
children was honestly my
fave. It showed a diferent
side of the athleteand of
the NBA. Hes a real family
man and, by the looks of it,
a terric cook.
Jessica Smith,
via Facebook
What a positive image of the
Black celebrity family. I loved
their commitment to their
faith and one another.
Monique Sterling,
Wilmington, DE
CORRECTION
We incorrectly stated that

food expert JuJu Harris
was a young mom on food
stamps [Ten Things Were
Talking About, June 2014].
Harris was 35 years old
and received WIC when
she had her rst child. We
regret the error.
CONTRIBUTORS
DONNA M.
OWENS shares
the journey of
mothers ghting
for quality education in Moms on
the Front Lines
(page 84). The
award-winning
journalist has written for outlets including
NPR, O magazine and the Miami Herald.
Her heroes: My parents galvanized
folks like these women and instilled a
love of books that remains with me.
LAUREN N.
WILLIAMS
(@laurnwilliams)
is the news editor
for ESSENCE. She
spearheads our
coverage of the
issues that matter
to you, like tips to
help our children get ahead in The Secrets
to Raising Really Smart Kids (page 88).
Her love for Michelle Obama: I feel like
she is a family member. I admire her
integrity and charisma.
SHERRILYN IFILL
(@Sill_LDF) is
the president and
director-counsel
of the NAACP
Legal Defense
and Educational
Fund. She wrote
What It Will Take
to Integrate Our Schools (page 64).
Her discovery: I grew up in a Black
neighborhood and went to integrated
public schools, so I feel fully condent
wherever I am.
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CONTRIBUTORS , FROM LEF T: COU RTESY OF SU B J ECT; MICHAEL ROWE PHOTOG R APHY; MA XIMILLIAN FR ANZ.
Prince After Dark

was exactly what I
expected from Prince
a man shrouded in
mystery but underneath
it all, a peace-filled, soulful lover of music. It
was highly entertaining.
Sheena Darty,
via Facebook
After reading Princes

interview with the wonderful Nile Rodgers [These
Are the Good Times], I
think Nile just gets better
with time. It was good to
see him back on the beat
after his frightening bout
with cancer. Hes been an
inspiration for so many
people over the years.
Rita Wade,
Elizabeth City, NC
Our Pride & Joy
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LOVE your eyes

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Bold new shades. Long-wearing formulas.
Find your eye-deal look.
Contact your Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant
or connect with one at marykay.com.
Shades shown: Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color in

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/ 2014 Mary Kay Inc.
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REWORK
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DENIM
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WARDROBE BY UPGRADING
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Spruce up a denim dress.

Dress, Marshalls, $40,
marshallsonline.com for
stores. Blouse, Calvin Klein,
$80, Macys. Glasses, Rough
Justice, $162, roughjustice.
com. Cuf, Daniel Espinosa,
$215, danielespinosa.com
for stores. Bag, Liz
Claiborne New
York, $70, qvc.com.
Sandals, Joes Jeans,
$115, zappos.com.
Look for denimtrimmed pieces. Blazer,
7 For All Mankind, $325,
7forallmankind.com.
Top, Aropostale, $24,
aeropostale.com. Pants,
Marchesa Voyage, $295,
saks.com. Sandals,
Shoe Republic LA,
$28, lulus.com.
STYLE
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STYLE : DENIM
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Tuck in your
denim shirt and
cinch with a belt.
Top, Blvd, $38,
modcloth.com.
Skirt, Bea & Dot,
$70, modcloth
.com. Earrings,
Daniel Espinosa,
$100, daniel
espinosa.com for
stores. Bangles,
R.J. Graziano,
$40 for set of 3,
rjgraziano.com.
Belt, Igigi, $55,
igigi.com.
Top shorts
with a smart
blazer. Shorts,
Newport
News, $54,
spiegel.com.
Blazer, T.J.
Maxx, $130,
tjmaxx.com
for locations.
Tank, Color
Block, $65,
asos.com.
Earrings,
The 2 Bandits,
$118, the2
bandits.com.
Pair tailored
tops with
trouser jeans.
Jeans, 7 For
All Mankind,
$215, 7forall
mankind.com.
Vest and shirt,
1.State, $118
and $68, 646562-4700 for
info. Glasses,
Rough Justice,
$162, rough
justice.com.
Earrings, Elk,
$30, elkacces
sories.com.
Cuf, Shop
Prima Donna,
$10, shopprima
donna.com.
Pumps, JustFab,
$40, justfab
.com.
Rock a pencil skirt

for a professional look.
Skirt, QFD by Qristyl
Frazier Designs, $80,
qristylfrazierdesigns
.com. Tunic, 6th and
Lane at Lane Bryant,
$79, lanebryant.com.
Earrings, Artisan Gems
Boutique, $72, artisan
gems.com. Bracelets,
The 2 Bandits, $168 for
set of 3, the2bandits
.com. Belt, Igigi, $55,
igigi .com. Pumps, Mango,
$80, mango.com.
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LACQUERS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
RACE RED
50 YEARS OF STYLE
QUEEN OF THE ROAD
THE SKYS MY LIMIT
GIRLS LOVE PONIES
ANGEL WITH A LEADFOOT
Available at ULTA, Smart Style, jcp Salons,

Beauty Brands, and select Professional Salons.
Ford Motor Company Trademarks and Trade
Dress used under license to OPI Products Inc.
#MUSTANGMANI
Call 800.341.9999 2014 OPI Products Inc.
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Try it on at opi.com
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STYLE : STREET STYLE
WHAT WERE
WEARING IN...
THESE DENIM DARLINGS ADORE
THEIR CHAMBRAY SHIRTS AND
DISTRESSED JEANS
BROOKLYN
Tanisha Marshall,
model
MONTCLAIR, NJ
WASHINGTON, DC
Mariama Bramble,
entrepreneur
ATLANTA
Erica Scott,
entrepreneur
AUSTIN, TX
Misha Pruitt,
sales support specialist
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AUGUSTA, GA
Jasmine Savage,
student
CLOCK WISE FROM TOP RIG HT: EMIL LEN DOF; COU RTESY OF SU B J ECT (5).
Shainna Tucker,
style blogger
Beauty
feel-good
Boost & brighten your fall

beauty routine in store and
online at Target.com/beauty.
From $3.99.
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2014 Target Brands, Inc. The Bullseye Design is a registered trademark of Target Brands, Inc. Prices not applicable in Alaska and Hawaii. 464436
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STYLE : IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Jacket and shirt,

Levis. Turtleneck,
American Apparel.
BEAUTY NOTE
There are no rules
for nail art, so
match your digits
to your denim.
Get this look
using Deborah
Lippmann in
Rolling in the Deep
($18, deborah
lippmann.com)
and Dior Vernis
Nail Lacquer in
Muguet ($25,
dior.com). w
true blues
TIKA SUMPTER TAKES THIS SEASONS HOTTEST
DENIM STYLES TO SEXY NEW HEIGHTS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICHOLAS ROUTZEN | STYLING BY JASON REMBERT

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Introducing ...
GOOD FOR YOU
Naturally beautiful. Beautifully natural.

Nourishing cosmetic recipes made with organic Shea Butter
and other healing Mother Earth ingredients that radiate
goodness and work wonders on any complexion.
In customizable palettes that embody a world of cultures,
colors and combinations for eyes, lips and every skin tone
creating the perfect expression of your unique beauty.
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The biggest
lesson Ive
learned from
playing Candace
[Tyler Perrys The
Haves and the Have
Nots] is not to
let anger and
lifes experiences
eat you up.
Crop top, American
Apparel. Skirt,
Alberta Ferretti.
Necklace, Robert
Lee Morris.
Rings, Ora.
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I feel most
bossy in jeans
and heels.
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Jumpsuit, Diesel.
Earrings, Ora.
Cuf, Robert
Lee Morris.
Pumps, Bally.
Dog collar, Ware
of the Dog. w
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There are so
many beautiful
shades of brown
skin, and the
rest of the world
just had to
catch up [on
celebrating us].
Turtleneck,
American Apparel.
Pants, Hilger
Collection. Choker,
Anndra Neen.
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orry, diamonds. But the perfect pair of

jeans really can be a girls best friend. Just
ask actress Tika Sumpter, who feels her
most powerful when shes rocking her tted pair.
I love that I can dress them up with heels or be
cool in Converse, she says. Im a Gemini, so my
style is all over the place. Sumpters adaptability
comes in handy for her smoldering career. After
turning heads in YSL and Marchesa on Gossip Girl,
the New York City native traveled back in time for
2012s Sparkle and this months new release Get
On Up, the James Brown biopic in which she plays
one of his backup singers. I love to dress in the
sixties era, she says. They dressed impeccably
even if they were just going to the grocery store.
The middle child of six is quickly becoming
one of Hollywoods hardest-working women,
appearing in seven films and four television
shows over the past four years. Currently she
gives bad girls a new hero as Candace Young,
the villainous vixen on Tyler Perrys juicy
drama The Haves and the Have Nots, airing
Tuesdays on OWN. And Sumpter is discovering her own inner naughty girl after investing
in a new Journelle lingerie collection. I love
anything that makes women feel good about
themselves, she says. I look cute in my jeans
and there is a party going on underneath.
Charreah K. Jackson
As long as Im
comfortable, I feel
condent.
Jacket and shorts,
G-Star. Cami,
Victorias Secret
Catalogue. Cuf, Jill
Golden. Sandals,
Alejandro Ingelmo.
Dog collar
and leash,
Mungo & Maud. w
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Even if I dont get

a role, youre going to
remember me when
I leave the room. I give
my all to my art and
am grateful for every
opportunity.
Jacket and pants,
Ashish. Necklace,
Anndra Neen. Cluster
ring, Fallon. Pyramid
ring, Ora. Pumps,
Daniele Michetti.
For details, see
Where to Buy.
Hair, Dante Blandshaw.
Makeup, Ashunta
Sherif for Mary Kay.
Manicure, Rachel Shim.
Market editor, Eric
McNeal. Poodle, All
Star Animals.
See Tikas secrets to chasing your dreams
at ESSENCE.COM/TIKANETWORK.
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day fun.
Toyota RAV4
toyota.com/rav4
Options shown. Do not overload your vehicle. See Owners Manual for weight limits and restrictions. 2014 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
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Look and feel your best

with hot beauty favorites.
Revlon
ColorStay Gel
Envy Longwear
Nail Enamel
. fl. oz.
. each
Olay Fresh
Effects Shine
Minimizing
Cleanser
fl. oz.
.
ROLLBACK
was .
Dove Hair Therapy

Damage Solutions Intensive
Repair Shampoo or
Conditioner
. fl. oz.
. each
Revlon
Bold Lacquer
by Grow
Luscious
Length and
Volume
Mascara
. fl. oz.
.
Dove Go Fresh
Cool Moisture or
Deep Moisture
Nourishing
Body Wash
fl. oz.
. each
Gillette
Venus
Embrace
Razor
.
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All Clear
BEFORE YOU TRY ALL THOSE

CREAMS AND TREATMENTS
THAT PROMISE FLAWLESS SKIN,
HERES THE REAL DEAL ON SOME
OF OUR PESKIEST PROBLEMS
BY NYKIA SPRADLEY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARLEY KATE
ILLUSTRATIONS BY AMIEE CAMILLIEN
FACIAL & BODY HAIR
THAT WIRY STRAY HAIR SPROUTING FROM

YOUR CHIN OR TOES WASNT THERE YESTERDAY. DONT PANIC, YOURE NOT ALONE
ormonal changes and age may be the

culprit. The good thing is that removal can
be quick and easy. Just keep in mind that people
of color usually have curlier strands, so techniques
such as waxing, threading or even shaving can
create painful ingrown hairs, explains Andra
Young, owner of Beam Laser Spa in New York City.
HAIR, VIKKI CHAM B ERS WILLIAMS/ST YLES N E W YORK . M A K EU P, JEN NAVARO

FOR NARS/JUMP. MANICURE, MAYUMI ABUKU FOR PRITINYC/RONA REPRESENTS.
The Rx: Waxing, threading and sugaring are

all viable ways to get rid of hair, but they can
possibly damage the delicate layer of skin,
causing hyperpigmentation, breakouts and, in
some cases, allergic reactions to the wax. Also,
these methods are not a permanent solution.
Laser treatments, which are best for those prone
to ingrowns, last the longest. Do your research.
Make sure that the practitioner has a successful
history of working with brown skin because
it can scar and darken with the wrong laser.
The Nd:YAG laser is best for skin of color
because it has the appropriate wavelength.
For efective results youll probably need 12
sessions, which can run you about $2,400. No
matter what treatment you choose, remember to
apply a high SPF sunblockit helps
prevent discoloration and irritation.
BEAUTY
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BEAUTY : HEAD-TO-TOE HAPPY
SKIN TAGS
Cheryl Burgess, M.D., a
Washington, D.C.based
dermatologist and Black
Opal Cosmetics skin
expert.
Although
its
usage has been controversial (some countries
in Europe and Africa
have banned hydroquinone), it has proved to
be the most efective
and fastest method of
treatment. For example,
spots closer to the
skins surface can sometimes fade in about
two to four weeks.
Hydroquinone-free
products like Black Opal
Tri-Complex
Skintone
Brightening Gel ($14,
drugstores) may contain
FRECKLES ARE CUTE. ACNE SCARS AND
brightening ingredients
UNEVEN SKIN TONE? NOT SO MUCH
such as licorice, vitamin
nything that disrupts the skin C, retinol and kojic acid. These alter(acne, waxing, shaving or a mosnatives can help clear up discolorquito bite) causes inammation, which
ation, but they often require a longer
often results in discoloration for women commitment. For faster results they
of color. Although brown skin has builtcan be used with hydroquinone. Ask
in sun protection, excess sun exposure your dermatologist before combining
can intensify hyperpigmentation.
too many treatments, and remember
sunscreen is a must. Sun exposure
The Rx: Theres what we call a ramps up melanin production, which
gold standard in hyperpigmentais the last thing you need when trying
tion treatmenthydroquinone, says to rid skin of dark spots.
HYPERPIGMENTATION
THOSE RAISED SPOTS YOU THOUGHT

WERE MOLES ARE TAKING ON A LIFE
OF THEIR OWN
kin tags are usually the result of

friction, says Burgess. Commonly they can be found around the
eyes, on the neck, under the armpits,
in the groin, and on the upper and
inner thighs. Those are areas where
the skin rubs against skin, jewelry or
clothing. Tags around the eyes can
be a result of constant eye rubbing.
Fleshier and flabbier than a mole, a
skin tag may look like a tick on the
skin. It is usually flesh-colored,
but in some Black patients it may
be more brown and is typically on a
stalk where you can almost grab it,
says Burgess.
The Rx:
Although skin
tags can be
unsightly,
theyre harmless. If youre
uncertain
whether its a
tag or a mole,
visit a dermatologist. Your
doctor can
easily remove the tags by numbing
the area with a topical anesthetic
and snipping them off.
ACNE SCARS
YOU COULDNT RESIST PICKING THAT PIMPLE

AND NOW THERES A SCAR TO SHOW FOR IT
The Rx: If you know that you get scarring from your acnemeaning a change
of texture, not just discolorationthen
even one new pimple a month means 12
new scars a year, says Doris Day, M.D.,
clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York Universitys Langone
Medical Center. Get professional help to
treat the acne so you can avoid scarring.
If the damage is already done, a device
like the eMatrix laser is a great choice
for skin of color. The laser uses radio fre-
quencies to reform the collagen underneath the skin. The therapy increases cell
turnover, so youll get a fresh and smooth
new layer of skin. Each treatment takes
about ten minutes and youll need three
to ve sessions for optimal results. Craterlike scars can be treated with a laser
Deeper scars are a lot more difcult to
treat. Nothing really helps them, says
Day. With acne scars you have to be
very careful. I never say the scarring will
be gone; I just say it will be better. w
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EYE
STUDIO
ADVANCED TECH FOR SUPERIOR EYE EFFECTS
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Jessica is wearing New Eye Studio Color Tattoo Leather 24HR Eye Shadow
in Dramatic Black with accent shades Vintage Plum and Chocolate Suede.
YADIM CARRANZA,
GLOBAL MAKEUP ARTIST
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BEAUTY : HEAD-TO-TOE HAPPY
CELLULITE
YOUVE SPENT MONTHS SLATHERING ON

CREAMS TO BANISH THE LUMPS, BUT HAVE YET
TO SEE ANY RESULTS
nfortunately cellulite is an issue

that goes much deeper than any
topical cream can treat. Cellulite is
an architectural problem in the skin,
explains Neil Sadick, M.D., clinical professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell
Medical College in New York City. It is
genetic and can be estrogen-related.
If the lining around the fat cells are in
a vertical position instead of a normal
horizontal position, the fat cells can
protrude into the dermis layer of the
skin, causing puckering and bumpiness, Sadick adds. It is not preventable, and it tends to increase in slightly
heavier people, but not always. Ive
seen marathon runners with cellulite,
BELLY BULGE
SO YOU FELL PREY TO THE
FRESHMAN 15, AND ITS STILL
HANGING ON TEN YEARS LATER
The Rx: Fat removal has come a

long way from when that vibrating
belly machine was supposed to get
rid of the pounds while you stood in
place. These days, fat can really be
reduced; it just depends on whether
you prefer an invasive or a noninvasive procedure. Over the past
few years, with the advent of laser
and radio frequency devices like
Vanquish, doctors are now able to
break down fat and tighten the skin
with minimal incisions and practically no downtime for recovery.
Theres also a new FDA-approved
says Bruce E. Katz, M.D., director of the Juva Skin & Laser
Center in New York City.
The Rx: Professional treatments can signicantly improve

the appearance of cellulite.
Lasers like Cellulaze remove the
lining around fat cells, decrease
their quantity and remodel the
dermis, pushing fat back into
the compartments. Were also doing
research on a new injectable drug for
cellulite called Xiaex, says Sadick. It
chemically dissolves the linings around
the fat cells. Some doctors treat the
condition with injectable llers (typi-
cally used for expression lines). Most

skin of color has greater elasticity, but
if there is a pivot or hole, llers will work
perfectly on it, says New York City
based cosmetic dermatologist Paul
Jarrod Frank, M.D.
therapy called UltraShape. Its a

noninvasive ultrasound that uses a
transducer on the skins surface to
melt away fat, says Katz.
Aaron Rollins, M.D., a cosmetic
surgeon and founder of Elite Body
Sculpture in Los Angeles, has created
a proprietary technology called
AirSculpt Laser Liposculpture. Unlike
traditonal techniques, it takes out
more fat and doesnt use needles or
a scalpel. The hour-long procedure is
done while youre awake: A device
is used to make a two-millimeter
circle, the size of a mole. A tiny tube
is attached to an air compressor that
moves the tube back and forth over
1,000 times a minute to buf out the
fat. If you just need a jump start to
shed the pounds or if youve hit a
weight loss plateau, you may want to
consider low-level laser therapy, like
i-LipoXcell. It stimulates the natural
process of releasing fat. When fat
cells are exposed to laser light, they
shrink and in turn, you shrink. Each
session takes about 20 minutes and
sheds about 300 calories, explains
Jam Heskett, M.D., founder and
medical director of The Wellpath
center in New York City.
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STRETCH MARKS
BATHING YOURSELF IN BODY
OIL EVERY NIGHT HAS YOUR
SKIN GLOWING, BUT ITS DONE
NOTHING FOR THOSE LINES
ts all about the type of skin you

have. Skin that isnt very elastic
when it stretches tears the collagen,
explains Katz.
The Rx: All the derms we spoke

with agreed that creams dont work.
The only creams that have a mild or
minimal efect are the ones containing Retin-A or a vitamin A derivative,
such as the dermatologist-prescribed
Retin-A Micro or Tazorac, says
Sadick. Vascular laser therapies like
the pulsed dye laser or Excel V heat
and shrink blood vessels to make
darker marks less visible. Lighter
marks can be
treated with
targeted Levia
laser therapy,
which stimulates
new melanin.
Its possible
to see a 20 to
90 percent
improvement.
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TM
SPECIAL FEATURES NOT RATED
Motion Picture Artwork 2014 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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[NYSE: LGF] www.lionsgateshop.com
promotion
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out & about

SEEN ON THE SCENE
JourNEy To BEAuTiful
ESSENCE hosted an exclusive conversation in NYC with May
cover Superstars Ledisi and Erykah Badu led by our new Beauty
and Style Director Pamela Edwards-Christiani. The night ended
with the debut of the new Hair Channel on ESSENCE.com
Photo: PictureGroup
Top left to bottom right: Bershan Shaw, Tifany Jones, ESSENCE.com Hair and Beauty
Editor Deena Campbell, Erykah Badu, Christina Rice, and Chenoa Maxwell, Celebrity
Blogger Necole B, ESSENCE Editor-In-Chief Vanessa K. Bush, ESSENCE Beauty and
Style Director Pamela Edwards-Christiani, Erykah Badu and Ledisi, Author and Reality
Star Demetria L. Lucas
PANTENE Curly Qs & sTrAighT TAlk
sPElmAN WomEN of Color CoNfErENCE
ESSENCE in partnership with Pantene hosted its rst-ever Curly Qs

& Straight Talk an celebrating the health and diversity of our hair.
ESSENCE Beauty and Style Director Pamela Edwards-Christiani led
the conversation in NYC and Atlanta, GA with well known bloggers
and hair expert Mann Nance.
ESSENCE was the Ofcial Media Sponsor of the 10th Annual

Spelman College Leadership and Women of Color Conference.
ESSENCE Editor-In-Chief, Vanessa K. Bush and Editor-At-Large
Mikki Taylor participated in the Festivities.
Clockwise from left: CEO & Principal The Langford Company, Traci Lynn Blackwell CW Programming Development, & ESSENCE Editor In-Chief Vanessa K. Bush, Shaun
Robinson - Co-anchor and Weekend Correspondent Access Hollywood & Beverly
Daniel Tatum, Ph.D. - Spelman President, Editor-At-Large- Mikki Taylor, Shaun
Robinson - Co-anchor and Weekend Correspondent Access Hollywood, Michelle
Bernard - CEO Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy, Traci Lynn
Blackwell, & ESSENCE Editor-In-Chief Vanessa K. Bush
Photo: Julie Yarbrough
Photo: NYC - Matthew C. Anderson, Atlanta - Shannon McCollum
Top (NyC) left to right: Renae Bluitt, Kla Walker, Beauty and Style Director Pamela
Edwards-Christiani, Mann Nance, Aliah Davis, and Tiarra Monet. Bottom (Atlanta, gA)
right to left: Tarika Saada, Mimi, Beauty and Style Director Pamela Edwards-Christiani,
Mann Nance, Nikki Mae, and Brandi Elise.
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ADVERTISEMENT
SUMMER
BEAUTY BASICS
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GET GORGEOUS WITH THIS SEASONS MUST-HAVE PRODUCTS!
TAKE HYDRATION TO
THE NEXT LEVEL
Designed specically for
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Softsheen-Carson
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BEAUTY : AT EVERY PRICE

cleanWorldMags.net
Dermablend
Professional
Leg and Body
Cover ($30,
ulta.com).
PURIFYING FOAM CLEANSER
Vita-K
Professional
For Stretch
Marks ($15,
freeman
beauty.com).
Mederma
PM Intensive
Overnight Scar
Cream ($35,
mederma.com
for stores).
Clarisonic
Aria Cleansing
Device and
Radiance Brush
Head, part of the
Sonic Radiance
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kit ($249 for kit,
Nordstrom).
Emjoi
eRase Epilator
($80, emjoi.com).
BLACKHEAD ELIMINATING SCRUB
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SMOOTH
OPERATORS
THESE AT-HOME SKIN FIXERS WILL LEAVE YOU

HAPPY FROM HEAD TO TOE BY ANDREA JORDAN
BODY
DISCOLORATION
STRETCH
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Dermablends
rich leg and body
foundation perfectly
conceals mild to
severe blotchiness from
spots, veins and scars.
Many experts agree that

no cream will get rid of
stretch marks. However,
Vita-Ks ofering comes
in a universal tint that
blurs their appearance.
DARK
CIRCLES
Clinique Even Better
Eyes Dark Circle Corrector has been clinically
proven to reduce the
appearance of dark
marks in 12 weeks.
UNEVEN TONE
& TEXTURE
Clarisonics new Sonic
Radiance system cleansing device has bristles
that diminish ne lines
and dark spots after just
two weeks.
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UNWANTED HAIR
Your waxing days
are over. Perfect for
both body and face,
Emjoi eRase Epilator
has 60 tweezers to
remove hair from
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SCARS
Mederma PM
improves both old and
new scars. Be patient;
it works but youve
got to be consistent.
PHOTOG R APHY, CH RISTIN E B L ACKBU RN E. PROP

ST YLIST, JASON G LEDHILL /HALLE Y RESOU RCES .
OILYCLEANSING
SKIN
NOURISHING
OIL
Clinique
Even Better
Eyes Dark
Circle
Corrector
($40,
sephora
.com).
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Color
Teory
Carla Gentry Osorio
and her Styles New
York Salon team prove
that fun, temporary hair
hues arent just for kids
BY NYKIA SPRADLEY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
ANGELIKA BUETTNER
Want to know the tricks to
pulling of bubblegum-pink
hair? Subtle placement,
a great cut and a sleek
blowout. To transport these
Halloween-friendly clip-ins
into a chic, grown-up zone,
look for human hair options
that allow you to manipulate
the texture with heat.
COMB KEY
HAIR
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HAIR, CARLA GENTRY OSORIO, VIKKI CHAMBERS WILLIAMS, KHADINE CHALLENGER- CATNOTT, BIANCA
BOWMAN/ST YLES N E W YORK . MAKEU P, J EN NAVARO/J U M P MANAG EM ENT AN D COLBY SMITH/
E XC LU S I V E A RTI S TS . M A N I C U R E , A N A- M A R I A /A BT P.CO M . S T Y LI S T, R N EI S E FR A N C I S .
Gauge the level

of difculty with
this helpful guide:
1 = supereasy
4 = youll need a
friend to help
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HAIR : TINTED LOVE
CAMO CHIC
If primary colors arent your thing, try

this fresh spin on ombr. We created a
wide bronze band by dusting a shimmery eye shadow three quarters of the
way down from the crown, followed by
two inches of golden hair chalk on the
ends. Fair warning: This look has the
least amount of staying power. The hue
rubs of easily, so wear a sleeveless shirt
and be prepared either to wash it out
before bedtime or to cover your hair to
avoid ruining your sheets.
HairUWear Human
Hair Color Extensions
in Light Purple
($10, ulta.com).
Snazzy Lites Color
Clip-in Human Hair
Extensions in Playful Pink
($12, snazzylites.com).
TINT Hair Chalk

in Golden Girl
($20, nefeather
heads.com).
MAC Eye Shadow
in Antiqued and
138 Tapered
Face Brush ($15
and $53, mac
cosmetics.com).
TRUE BLUE
Rita Hazan
Pop Color in Blue
($18, ritahazan.com).
AQUA COOL
LOral
Professionnel
HairChalk in
Blue Ocean
Cruise ($24,
lpsalons.com
for salons).
Spray formulas can get messy, so use a sheet of

paper as a barrier to prevent pigment transfer onto
your clothes or other parts of your hair. The upside
is once its on, the shade will stay put until you wash
it outa little bit of work for a whole lot of pretty.
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STILLS , CH RISTIN E B L ACKBU RN E. PROP ST YLIST, JASON G LEDHILL /HALLE Y RESOU RCES .
Liquid tints can deliver

a more vibrant payof,
but they can dry stif
and tangle strands.
Instead of air-drying,
pass a blow-dryer over
locks after applying.
The heat keeps them
soft and crunch-free.
Or brush air-dried
colored hair softly
and dab with leave-in
conditioner to soften.
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HAIR : NATURAL NEWS
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If your hair is brittle and absent of shine, seek a pro to bring it

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Gabrielle Union loves the color of her skin.

But she knows it cant protect her from skin cancer.
No one, regardless of skin color, is impervious to the dangers of the sun. While the risk of developing skin cancer is lower
among African Americans, the disease is deadliest among this population. Thats because skin cancer often goes unnoticed
until the more advanced stages, when treatment is more diffcult. Protection and early detection are the key to survival.
For sun safety tips and life-saving tools, like a free dermatologist skin cancer screening,
self-exam kit and discounts on sunscreen products, go to
ChooseSkinHealth.com
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with participation from
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HER
SONG
FOR MARSHA AMBROSIUS,
WRITING FROM THE

HEART IS THE ONLY WAY
BY BRITNI DANIELLE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM WRIGHT
SCENE
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rince, Michael Jackson,

Patti LaBelle, Dr. Dre.
The list of legendary
artists Marsha Ambrosius, 37, has
worked with reads like a whos who
of the music biz. But despite
collaborating with several greats,
the singer still thinks she has something to prove. It feels like I started
yesterday, the Liverpool, England,
native confesses. Regardless of
what Ive accomplishedwhether
thats winning a Grammy or losing
seven Grammys after thatIm
still hungry. After the breakup of
her neosoul duo, Floetry, in 2006,
Ambrosius focused more on her
songwriting, penning tracks for
Alicia Keys and pouring her heart
into her 2011 solo debut, Late Nights
& Early Mornings. The painfully honest record endeared her to fans who
could relate to the reective tales
of heartbreak. She mines her life
once again on her recently released
sophomore efort, Friends & Lovers,
a soulful exploration of love and
loss. Says Ambrosius, Im not just
singing a sad song. I lived it; theres
a diference. Ambrosiuss willingness to lay it all bare was inspired by
the King of Pop. After cowriting the
2001 hit Butteries, Jackson gave
the singer some food for thought: If
this is your beginning, imagine where
youre going to go. From the looks
of things, the only direction is up.
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SCENE : ENTERTAINMENT
ON THE GOOD FOOT:

CHADWICK BOSEMAN
FILM
WE GOT A FEELIN ABOUT THE

STAR OF THE JAMES BROWN BIOPIC
Halle
Berry
returns
to the
small
screen.
HALLE BERRY
IS OUT OF
THIS WORLD
TV
HOT NEW
SCI-FI SERIES
What do Steven Spielberg,

a pregnant astronaut
and the City of
Angels have in
common? They
RT
A
IT
EXHIB
Go see Funky
Turns 40!: Black Character
Revolution at Chicagos
DuSable Museum; until
October 20.
the greatest actors of all

time, he recalls. Then it
became a challenge.
But can he move like a sex
machine? We did a test to
see how far of I was [with the
dancing], and I was pretty
far, says the South Carolina
native with a laugh. So they
paired me with a choreographer who had studied James
Brown. It was painful, those
movements, because if you
havent done them and you
do them for one minute,
youre done. Cori Murray
were all the reasons Halle

Berry, 48, needed to take
the lead role in the futuristic TV thriller Extant (which
debuted July 9 on CBS). In
the 13-episode series,
Berrys character returns to
Earth from a one-year solo
mission in space, then is
surprised to discover shes
pregnant with an alien.
Spielberg is executiveproducing the summer
blockbuster event, but the
real bonus for the Oscarwinning actress was having
the series lmed in L.A.
Says the mother of Nahla,
6, and Maceo-Robert, 10
months: I really want to be
home and be a hands-on
mom, and I get to stay in
town and not be a gypsy.
Mekeisha Madden Toby
Fat Albert
and the Cosby
Kids was one
of the rst
cartoons on
TV with a
Black cast.
TABLET EXTRAS
Hear how Chadwick
Boseman adored
working with female
costars like Viola
Davis and Jill Scott.
AUGUST
MUSIC MUSTS
MUSIC
FROM THE SUPREMES TO LAURYN

HILL, BLACK WOMEN STILL ROCK
n homage to The Supremes iconic year,

Hip-O Select celebrates the ftieth anniversary of the trios rst number one hit
with a rerelease of their singles. (Where Did
Our Love Go peaked on August 22, 1964.)
Taking a page from history,
the rst ladies of hip-hop
and neosoul will perform
August 810 at the 2nd
Annual Marthas Vineyard
Summer Madness Music
Festival and Conference.
Artists include Lauryn Hill,
MC Lyte, Amel Larrieux
and more. Nia S. Vaughn
Lt. Uhura
reprised her
live-action
role from
Star Trek in
the animated
series.
Lauryn
Hill
Franklin
Armstrong
was the
rst Black
character
introduced
in Peanuts.
TABLET EXTRAS See more photos from the Funky Turns 40! exhibit,
and hear from curators Loreen Williamson and Pamela Thomas.

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BOSEMAN, DYLAN DON. HILL, VALLERY JEAN/WIRE IMAGE/GETTY

IMAGES. BERRY, CBS VIA GETTY PHOTO ARCHIVE. ART EXHIBIT,
MUSEUM OF UNCUT FUNK COLLECTION. BOOK STILL, EMIL LENDOF.
Before he played Jackie

Robinson in 42: The 37-yearold Howard University and
British American Drama
Academy grad appeared
in the lm The Express and
such TV series as Lincoln
Heights. Hes also a director
and a playwright.
Why hes tackling another
African-American legend,
James Brown, in Get On
Up (in theaters August 1):
My older brother, whos a
minister, said, Man, if you
pull that of, youll be one of
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SCENE : BOOKS
Bass and
Craft (right)
with characters from
The Zero
Degree
Zombie
Zone.
can to sell me those books.

I parted with copies of those
editions because seeing her
son reading ignited such a
passion in her.
P.H.B.: Thats part of the
GETTING
OUR BOYS
TO READ
ESSENCE BOOKS EDITOR PATRIK

HENRY BASS IS ON A MISSION
TO MAKE THE WRITTEN WORD COOL
AND FUN FOR YOUNG BLACK MALES
American authors, and only

93 titles centered on Black
characters. The Zero Degree
Zombie Zone (Scholastic
Press, $15.99), out this
month, grew out of a desire
to introduce a make-believe
world with four kidsthree
boys and a girlwho seem
authentic. It was also a way
for me to ofer variety in the
childrens books category.
I reached out to illustrator
Jerry Craft to visualize the
story. Along the way, our
conversations shifted from
the four ctitious kids I created and he drewBakari,
Keisha, Tariq and Wardell
to our own kids, and how
we can get boys to see that
reading can be as exciting
as video games.
P.H.B.: Amen. Hands down,

of any genre, I get more
requests for recommendations of childrens books
featuring Black characters.
Is that your experience?
J.C.: A woman bought one
of my Mamas Boyz books.
She tracked me down
because she wanted to get
the other two titles in the
series, but they were out
of print. She said, My son
never reads anything. You
have to do whatever you
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Patrik Henry Bass and Jerry

Craft will speak about how to
get our boys to read at the 2014
Library of Congress National
Book Festival in Washington,
D.C., on August 30.
The Zero Degree Zombie

Zone is for ages 8 and up.
What are you reading this summer?

Tell me on Twitter @PATRIKSPICKS.
BASS AN D CR AF T, J ERRY CR AF T. BOOK STILL, STE VE ALE X AN DROV.
Growing up, I was surrounded

by a family that loved books.
Though money was tight,
my mother never let her
Book of the Month Club
membership lapse, and my
dad was keen on spy novels.
Once they nished, I picked
up the books theyd read,
by writers such as Harold
Robbins, Sidney Sheldon
and Ian Fleming. Back in
the day, I could not nd
any childrens books with a
Black lead character. Im still
scratching my head at the
numbers released in a 2013
study by the Cooperative
Childrens Book Center at
the University of WisconsinMadison. Of 3,200 childrens
books published last year,
only 67 were by African-
PATRIK HENRY BASS: You

have two sons. How do you
incorporate reading into
their lives?
JERRY CRAFT: When I was
younger, I enjoyed comic
books like Black Panther
and Black Lightning, which
had leads who looked like
me. Once I started doing
illustrations and creating
my own books, I found
authors like Eric Velasquez
and Bryan Collier. My sons
are now 14 and 16, and half
of our library is lled with
African-American authors.
For all children, but especially for boys, its important
that they see you read. If
you value reading, they will
adopt a similar interest.
reason I was eager to write

a childrens book. I didnt
want Black boys to think
that only White kids can
be heroic and have fun. I
just wanted three diferent
Black boys and a fearless
Black girl navigating trust
and friendship.
J.C.: Bakari, Keisha, Tariq
and Wardell are regular kids.
A lot of the books for our
children are heavy-handed
and provide no escape. I see
books that remind our kids
of how bad their lives are.
Theres never a dad. Theyre
dealing with drug dealers.
Some are abused. Even
when the child succeeds in
the end, he doesnt always
win. We need to tell those
stories. But we need to tell
positive stories too.
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10
THINGS
WERE
TALKING
ABOUT
COMPILED BY SYLVIA OBELL
THE GREAT DEBATERS

Ameena Rufn (left), 21,
and Korey Johnson, 19,
went from passionately
arguing current events on
campus to becoming the
rst Black women ever
to win a national debate
championship. This past
March, the Towson University students triumphed
against 169 other teams in
the countrys ultimate war
of words, the Cross Examination Debate Association
Championship. We talked
to the astute competitors
about their historic win
and the legacy they hope
to leave behind.
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DEC ARLO B ROWN/COU RTESY OF TOWSON U NIVERSIT Y
ISSUES
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WNBA.COM/TICKETS
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ISSUES : TRENDING TOPICS
ESSENCE: Are more AfricanAmericans participating in

debate competitions?
A.R.: The numbers are growing, though its denitely not
proportional to the number of Black
students on college campuses. But
I see the eld expanding because
diferent styles of debating are being
incorporated. More women and

people of color are able to add their
experiences and change the way
we deliberate about policies.
ESSENCE: What made
you interested in debate?
K.J.: In college and high school,
students arent really asked their
opinions. Theyre just fed information
and then asked to regurgitate it on
tests. Being able to use my knowledge and say whats on my mind is
important for me. Debating makes
me feel as though I have a voice.
ESSENCE: You have one more
year together as a team before
Ameena graduates. What mark do
you want to leave on the arena?
A.R.: We want people to use our
debates and the research within
them to orient themselves toward
academic spaces. We want others
to be able to use our scholarship to
build upon their own.
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THE CREAM OF
THE CROP
In Black Girls
Rock! news:
Erika H. James
has been
named dean of Emory
Universitys Goizueta
Business School,
making her
the rst Black
woman to
run a top 25
M.B.A. program.
AHEAD OF HER TIME
While conducting research

at the Massachusetts Historical
Society, Vivian R. Johnson, a former
professor, discovered that the rst
Black landowner in Boston was a
woman named Zipporah Potter
Atkins. In 1670, Atkins purchased a
home in the North End when neither
women nor Blacks were doing so. The
Heritage Guild has marked the lands
historical signicance with a plaque.
COU RTESY OF U NIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA
ESSENCE: How does it feel to be the

number one college debate team?
Korey Johnson: Many smart AfricanAmerican women debaters came
before us, and to be representing all
that hard work was special for me.
We were also coached by a Black
woman, Amber Kelsie, and that had
a lot to do with our success. She
debated at Dartmouth and passed on
her survival strategies to us.
Ameena Rufn: I am excited about
our win. Black women have never
won a national championship, but
this was the time. I felt that way going
into the tournament.
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6
4. HANDOUT/MCT/NEWSCOM. 5. JOSE LUIS PELAEZ, INC./GETTY IMAGES. 6. YURI
ARCURS/GETTY IMAGES. 9. COURTESY OF SUBJECT. 10. AP PHOTO/MATT YORK.
RACIAL DISCONNECT
4
It is as though weve
run up a credit card bill and,
having pledged to charge no

more, remain befuddled that the
balance does not disappear.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, on Americas moral
debt for slavery and its efects, in The
Case for Reparations from The Atlantic.
HAVING IT
ALLAT WORK
Thank God its

Monday? Researchers
at Penn State have
found that women
report being
happier at
work than at home. And mothers
who work full-time report being in
better health than those who work
part-time or not at all.
SETTING THE BAR
An MTV study shows 91 percent

of all millennials believe in racial
equality. But 65 percent of millennials
of color think White
people have more
opportunities.
Just 39 percent of
White millennials
believe the same.
Paulette Brown is the

new president of the American Bar
Association, the group responsible for
accrediting law schools
and establishing moral
codes in the law profession. The Howard
University grad is the
rst Black woman to
hold the position.
CHANGING THE RATIO
Black women in the U.S. are 40

percent more likely to die of breast
cancer than White women. Methodist
Healthcare in Memphis, the city with the
largest racial disparity among women
with the disease, is teaming up with
churches to ofer free mammograms,
biopsies and chemotherapy.
COMING UP SHORT
Just how bad is income

inequality in America? A
recent University of Miami
study found that a woman
who graduated with a 4.0 GPA in high
school is likely to earn nearly the same
income as a man who graduated with a 2.0.
10
WINNING PLAY
The WNBA has

launched a marketing campaign
targeted at the
LGBT community,
as lesbians make
up a quarter of the
leagues fan base.
The campaign, a rst
for any professional
league, will push
team participation
in local gay pride
parades and volunteer work with
advocacy groups.
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ISSUES : SHARE
Ill looks
toward a
promising
future for
school and
community
integration.
What It Will
Take to Integrate
Our Schools
WEVE BEEN MISSING A KEY COMPONENT
IN THE FIGHT FOR EDUCATION EQUALITY
BY SHERRILYN IFILL
Busings efects
didnt always
prove equal.
longer in the area during the day, local

stores generate little business. Capital,
credit and public infrastructure resources
are not lavished on a place thats a
veritable ghost town on weekdays.
Real integration in schools can only
result from policies that strengthen
communities. Segregation in housing
remains virtually unmoved (and, in some
cases, has deepened), and the outcome
has been economic stagnation in minority neighborhoods. Moving children to
racially integrated school settings is the
rst step. Creating incentives for racially
and economically integrated neighborhoods is the next one.
The roots of housing segregation
can be directly attributed to the federal
government. When the Federal Housing
Authority began ofering home owners
insurance in 1934, it forbade the sale
of homes from White families to Black
families by requiring racially restrictive
covenants in deeds. Thus began widespread home ownership as the marker
of the White middle class. Housing
segregation perpetuated the economic
I never saw buses

coming from White
neighborhoods to
our local schools.
isolation of inner-city ghettos and played
a key role in stiing Black wealth.
Still, ending housing discrimination is
not enough. Just as the U.S. invested in
the creation of the White middle class
in the 1930s and White suburbs in the
1950s, it must also commit to supporting
distressed neighborhoods and schools.
More resources for public infrastructure
and economic development should also
be part of the equation.
In 1954 and in the decades following,
this country failed to dismantle segregation in our communities. The impact has
been disastrous for our education
system. Today60 years laterwe have
the chance to turn things around.
Sherrilyn Ill is the president and directorcounsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund, Inc.
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FROM TOP: MAT T M c CL AIN FOR TH E WASHINGTON POST VIA G E T T Y

IMAG ES; DYL AN L. RYAN/ TH E BOSTON G LOB E VIA G E T T Y IMAG ES .
he day before First Lady

Michelle Obama traveled
to Topeka, Kansas, to
commemorate the sixtieth
anniversary of Brown v. Board
of Education, The New York Times
featured a photograph of her as
a kindergartner, along with her
classmates, at Bryn Mawr School
in Chicago. The picture shows an
integrated class in which 23
children are Black, 5 are White
and 1 is Middle Eastern.
I also went to an integrated school
in the North. But the picture of my rstgrade class from P.S. 219 in Queens,
New York, shows a group of almost
entirely White students. I am the lone
Black girl. There is one Black boy. The
contrast of my class photo with Mrs.
Obamas is a study in the difering ways
that integration played out in schools.
When integration came to Queens,
my siblings and I, along with other
students, were bused to predominantly
White schools far from our homes. I
never saw buses coming from White
neighborhoods to our local schools,
which had sufered from years of
neglect and minimal resources. At the
end of the school day, Black and White
students journeyed home in racially
homogeneous groups to their segregated communities. The efect was
swift and unfortunate.
It turns out that the presence of
children in a neighborhood is an economic engine, and the absence of them
portends a communitys demise. I believe
that when children and teachers are no
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ISSUES : REPORT
The Morris familys struggle to gain media attention for Jade is common for families of missing Black
children. A 2010 report, Missing Children in National
News Coverage, found that though African-Americans
account for 33.2 percent of missing children, our stories
are covered by the media at a rate of 19.5 percent.
Here the Wilsons talk about their important work:
bringing visibility to Black persons who have vanished.
It is a myth that you must

wait 24 hours to fle a
missing persons report.
Derrica Wilson (left)

and Natalie Wilson;
(inset) Jade Morris.
MISSING
WHILE
BLACK
ESSENCE: In addition to reaching out to news afliates, how

else does the Black and Missing Foundation help families?
Derrica Wilson: Our Web site, bam.org, serves as a comprehensive database for missing people of color, with photos, dates
of birth and other vital information about their disappearance.
N.W.: We also work with law enforcement ofcials operate
a tip line and utilize social media to help us nd the missing,
since we cannot always depend on the news cycle. For the
families, we hold a quarterly grief and support.
BY SYLVIA OBELL | PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER CHIN
ejuana Reeves-Morris reported her daughter, Jade

Morris, missing on December 22, 2012. The 10-year-old
never returned home from Christmas shopping with
her fathers girlfriend, Brenda Stokes. To spread the word
about her disappearance, Jades mom contacted local Las
Vegas news stations, but they said they couldnt nd an outlet
that would cover the story. Eventually, Mitchell connected
with the Black and Missing Foundation, a Maryland nonprot
founded by sisters-in-law Natalie Wilson, 45, and Derrica
Wilson, 36. The Wilsons got coverage of Jades disappearance on The Hufngton Post, which led to reports on Fox5
Vegas, News One and The Tom Joyner Morning Show. Following heightened media focus, the search ended on December
27, when the girls body was found.Stokes has been charged
with murdering Jade and has pleaded not guilty.
ESSENCE: Derrica, youre a veteran police ofcer. What

missteps in law enforcement have you seen in the handling
of these situations?
D.W.: I spent six months at the Northern Virginia Criminal
Justice Training Academy in Ashburn, Virginia, where we had
only two hours of training on missing persons cases. In the
eld, Ive seen a majority of Black missing children classied as
runaways, who dont get Amber Alerts. For Black adults, police
usually link their disappearances to criminal activity, so they
arent valued as much. Training needs to be enhanced so police
forces know how to handle these cases.
ESSENCE: According to the FBI, more than 200,000 Blacks
were reported missing in 2013. What should people do when
a family member has disappeared?
N.W.: It is a myth that you must wait 24 hours to le a missing
persons reportdo it immediately. Next call family and friends
and canvas the community by passing out yers and talking to
people in the area. And, of course, contact the Black and Missing Foundation. When no one else is listening to Black families
of missing persons, we are here.
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HAIR AN D MAKEU P, DEM E TRESS VALENTIN E /KEN BARBOZ A .COM .

MORRIS , AP PHOTO/L AS VEGAS POLICE DEPARTM ENT.
THERES A GLARING LACK OF MEDIA

COVERAGE WHEN AFRICAN-AMERICANS
DISAPPEAR. MEET TWO WOMEN ON A
MISSION TO CHANGE THAT
ESSENCE: Eight-year-old Relisha Rudd, who went

missing on March 1, 2014, from the D.C. homeless
shelter where she lived with her mother, has gotten
substantial spotlight in the press. Do you think this
points to an upward trend in coverage for Blacks?
Natalie Wilson: Relishas case is an anomaly. Unfortunately we dont see missing children or people of
color get the same level of awareness that her case has
received, and thats what we want to change.
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ADDS A
TOUCH OF
COOL TO
YOUR LOOK.
YOUR BREATHS FRIEND
40
min
FRESHER
2014 Mondelz International group
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BREATH
AFTER CHEWING.
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FIND CASH
FOR COLLEGE
FOR MANY COLLEGE STUDENTS,

GETTING INTO THE SCHOOL OF THEIR
DREAMS ISNT THE PROBLEM. ITS
FINDING THE MONEY TO STAY THERE
BY TAMARA E. HOLMES
AN DRE W RICH/G E T T Y IMAG ES
hanice Miller chose to attend Towson University in

2007 because her nancial aid award covered her
entire tuition and fees. But when one of her scholarships fell through, the freshman was left scrambling to
come up with $4,000 to make up the diference. I couldnt
keep that up, Miller says, so she transferred to a community college for three semesters, which saved her more than
$10,000. She then nished up at the University of Maryland,
Baltimore, where she received a bachelors degree in dental
hygiene in 2011. Thanks to her willingness to be proactive, I
didnt have to take time of, she says. But thats not the case
for many undergrads. Research has shown that money woes
are among the top reasons college students drop out, with
African-American students particularly hard hit. Not only has
the recession squeezed already tight family budgets, but
recent changes in the eligibility requirements for a
federal loan program have also left many students at
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
unable to pay their tuition. In fact, in 2012 two out
of every three applicants seeking money from
the Parent PLUS federal loan program to attend
an HBCU were denied, according to the United
Negro College Fund. If students drop out
for nancial reasons, theyre likely to be out
more than one semester, and they may not
return, says Patricia A. Scott, assistant
vice-president of student nancial
assistance & education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Despite the rising costs
of higher education,
there are steps you
can take and resources
you can tap to pay
for college and be
able to stay there.
MONEY &
POWER
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MONEY & POWER : EDUCATION
BEFORE YOU
GO TO
COLLEGE:
PICK THE
RIGHT SCHOOL.
A college shouldmeet three needs,
says Dana S. Branham, a nancial
adviser with Lasting Legacy Wealth
Management in Lexington, Kentucky:
It has to t academically, socially and
nancially.Not only should you consider
whether youll have enough to pay the
tuition all four years, but you should also
keep in mind the debt impact after you
graduate. Its an immediate hole youve
got to dig out of, Branham says.
You can save thousands by attending
school in your state. The average cost
of tuition and fees for a public four-year,
in-state college is $8,893 compared with
$22,203 for a public four-year, out-ofstate institution, according to the College Boards Annual Survey of Colleges.
Its important to weigh the costs
of tuition, housing, transportation and
food, and ask the nancial aid ofce how
often and by what percentage tuition
usually goes up each year, says Scott.
You want to factor that in to determine
if this is something you can aford over a
four-year period, Scott adds.
MAKE ALL
YOUR DEADLINES.
In order to qualify for federal nancial
aid, you must ll out the Free Applica-
A college
should
meet
three needs:
It has to fit
academically,
socially and
financially.
tion for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA;

fafsa.ed.gov), which determines how
much in grants, loans and workstudy
you are eligible for. Some private
schools also require that you complete
the CSS/Financial Aid Prole (student
.college board.org/css-nancial-aidprofile) to evaluate your nonfederal financial aid eligibility. Missing
federal, state or college deadlines
for completing these forms can cost
you. If a student runs into financial
difficulty, a financial aid office will
possibly be able to provide more
assistance to a student who met
the deadline than someone who did
not, says Scott.
BESTRATEGIC ABOUT
SCHOLARSHIPS.
Sure, you should be looking on sites
such as fastweb.com and scholarships
.com, but there are other ways to
find scholarships. Miller applied
for more than five per year. While
she didnt win them all, her awards
ultimately exceeded her tuition by
nearly $10,000. She found many local
scholarships by Googling her state
and nearby cities along with the words
scholarship foundation. She also called
the nancial aid ofces of multiple institutes in her region. There might be local
scholarship opportunities at one college
that arent shared at another, she says.
Today Miller, 25, helps others locate
money for college through her Web site,
debtfreecollegegrad.com.
CHOOSE LOANS
CAREFULLY.
Federal student loansthose funded
by the federal governmentare often
a part of a colleges nancial aid package. Private loans, funded by banks
and other lenders, can also be used
to help pay for higher education, but
use them only as a last resort. Federal
loans come with xed interest rates
and many federal loan programs let
you reduce your loan payments if they
become unafordable. If youre taking
out a loan, dont borrow more than you
need, Branham advises. Also, consider
the Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Program, which lets you of the hook
Keep track
of eligibility
requirements
and deadlines.
for part of your student loan balance if

you work at a government agency or
public service organization such as a
school or library.
ONCE
YOUREIN
SCHOOL:
KEEP YOUR MIND ON

YOUR MONEY.
Many scholarships cover only up to one
year of expenses. So the same steps you
took to get money for that rst year of
collegelling out the FAFSA, searching for scholarshipsmust be done
annually. When Charlene D. Rhinehart,
27, of Chicago was attending DePaul
University, she spent about ten hours
per week searching for scholarships and
other sources of funding. Shed keep
track of the eligibility requirements and
the application deadlines in an Excel
spreadsheet. If there were scholarships that Rhinehart wasnt eligible for
in her freshman year, Id put them on
my list and say sophomore year, Im
going to apply, she says. She also
kept her grade point average above
3.0 since many scholarships have
that minimum requirement.
RAISE
YOUR PROFILE.
Rhineharts secret tosecuringmore
than $100,000 in funding and internships over four years at DePaul was to
stay active. I got involved in at least ve
organizations my rst year, and every
organization gave out a scholarship,
says Rhinehart, who graduated in 2009.
Some organizations also connected her
with other scholarship opportunities. For
example, she received a $3,000 w
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MONEY & POWER : EDUCATION

scholarship from a national accounting rm that she learned about
from joining her schools chapter of
the National Association of Black
Accountants. She also found out
which scholarships and internships
older students had won, and then
applied for the same ones.
about a monthly bill, Scott says.

Other ways to stretch your dollars
includecooking andpacking a lunch
rather than eating out.
MAKE THE RIGHT FRIENDS

ON CAMPUS.
The nancial aid ofce can provide
information about scholarships and
other nancial resources even if you
dont qualify for federal aid, says Scott.
Also check with the student afairs
department, as wellas the professors in
your major, since many scholarships for
students are awarded through academic departments. Finally, ask your
instructors about paid internships and
on-campus jobs.
Touch base with these contacts
three or four times a year, Miller suggests, because schools receive information about scholarship opportunities
on a rolling basis.
BUDGET
WISELY.
Once you receive your disbursement
for the fall semester, you might not
get more money until the spring,
so create a spending plan to ensure
that you dont run out of funds in the
interim, Scott advises. If you must
pay for of-campus housing, ask if
you can pay your rent for the entire
semester so you dont have to worry
Financial aid
officers can use

professional
judgment to
award additional
aid if circumstances suddenly
impact a students
ability to pay
for school.
IF YOURE IN A
CASH CRISIS:
SLASH
HOUSING COSTS.
You might have to get creative. To cut
expenses, Miller stayed withfamily and
commuted 35 minutes each day when
she was going to dental school. Other
options for reducing housing costs
include getting roommates andsigning
up for your utility providers budget plan.
CONSIDER COMMUNITY
COLLEGE.
The average cost of a two-year, in-state
college is$3,264per year compared
with $8,893 for a public four-year,
in-state college. These education
institutes have whats known as articulation agreements, which guarantee that
certain community college courses
will satisfy freshmen and sophomore
requirements at a four-year university so
you can take those courses at the community college level and nish up your
last two years at the four-year institution.
The last thing you want to do is stop
going to school, soexhaust all options
before taking a semester break. A
failure to ask for help could really be
detrimental to the success of that student not just receiving aid but ultimately
receiving their degree, Scott says.
ASK
FOR HELP.
Financial aid ofcers have an authority
called Professional Judgment, through
which they can award additional aid
if circumstances suddenly impact a
students ability to pay for school.
For example, if students had medical
expenses they had to cover during a
particular semester, there may be something that we can do in the nancial aid
ofce to provide assistance, says Scott.
Additional sources of emergency aid
include short-term loans and scholarships set up within universities tohelp
students in nancial crisis. There are also
national programs, such as Scholarship
AmericaDreamkeepers (scholarship
america.org/dk.php), that help students
stay in school.
Timeline for Paying for College

T
rying to gure out how to bankroll your childs entire college

education? Stop. Thats not a
realistic goal for most people, says
nancial adviser Dana S. Branham.
In fact, on average, parents pay for
only 27 percent of their kids college
education costs. Instead, save what
you can and help your youngster take
advantage of other sources of nancing such as scholarships, grants and
loans. Heres where to start.
If your child is in the following:

PRE-K TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Open a 529 plan, a tax-advantaged
college education savings plan. Log on to
savingforcollege.com or collegesavings
.org for details.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Get friends and family involved.
Direct well-wishers to make contributions to the plan instead of buying
toys and clothes for birthdays and
holidays, Branham suggests. Start

looking for scholarships that children
can apply for at finaid.org/scholar
ships/age13.phtml.
HIGH SCHOOL
Begin talking to your kids about the costs
of college. Have them set aside some earnings from summer jobs and paid internships. Completing scholarship applications is another way that youngsters can
contribute to the process, says Branham.
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TABLET EXTRAS Learn how to

save and pay for graduate school.
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s
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All N
JULY 23 9/8c
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MONEY & POWER : ON THE JOB
HOW TO
READ PEOPLE
BODY LANGUAGE CAN CLUE YOU IN
ON WHAT YOUR BOSS AND COLLEAGUES
ARENT TELLING YOU
BY JANELLE HARRIS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM FRANCO
WATCH YOUR BODY

LANGUAGE
f youve ever been blindsided by an unfavorable performance review or a backstabbing coworker, you know that
people dont always say what they mean. However, the
body doesnt lie. It takes only seconds to tell whether someone
is being straightforward with you, says Lillian Glass, an expert
in body language and behavioral analysis and the author of
I Know What Youre Thinking (Wiley).
Luckily, the ability to read and decipher body language can
be learned. Weve all heard that crossing the arms is a defensive
position, but body language in the workplace can be far more
subtle, experts say. Here are some cues your boss and colleagues
may be sending and ways to use them to your advantage:
POSTURE NEVER LIES. We lean toward things we like and
away from things we dont, says Janine Driver, author of You
Say More Than You Think (Crown). So if your manager is sitting
up and leaning in your direction, shes interested in hearing more
of what you have to say. If she leans back during the course of a
conversationespecially a critical oneshes creating distance,
which could signal a problem. Driver suggests turning the interaction around by saying, Maybe Im wrong here, but it seems
I made you uncomfortable bringing that up. Its a cordial, disarming style of confronting the situation, she says, and claries
the reason for the shift in mood.
YOUR EXPRESSIONS
AND STANCES
SPEAK VOLUMES.
SOME TIPS:
1. Point your feet
toward the person you
want to connect with.
2. Keep hands open to
show approachability.
3. Maintain good,
consistent eye contact
(but dont stare).
4. Avoid crossing the
armsit subconsciously
creates barriers.
5. Leaning away implies
disinterest. Lean in!
THE FACTS ARE IN THE FACE. Vital signs to pay attention to

are in every part of the face, says Glass. If somebodys biting
her lip, shes holding back and not giving you the whole story,
she says. You may want to probe and ask more questions.
Another tip-of is if a coworker tells you something while
scratching her face. People sometimes involuntarily itch when
they tell lies, Glass points out. Much can be learned from watching the way someone holds his or her mouth, says Patti Wood,
a media coach and body language authority. For example, pursing or licking the lips can indicate anxiety, while pulling them in
could suggest someone is holding back anger.
FEET TELL NO TALES. When peoplesupervisors, associates,
clientsare engaged, their feet will point toward you. Where the
toes point, the heart follows, says Wood. Women in particular
tend to align our feet, our torso, our heart and our upper body
when were into whats being said. If they dont care about or
begin to question what youre saying, they may gradually shift
their body in a diferent direction. One foot might turn away,
then the next foot, then the lower pelvis, then the torso, then the
heart center will turn away, adds Wood. When this happens, you
may want to put of an important powwow for another day.
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BUILDING A
BRIGHT
FUTURE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KWAKU ALSTON
FIRST LADY MICHELLE

OBAMA BELIEVES
ALL OUR CHILDREN
SHOULD EXCEL IN
SCHOOL. IN HER SEVENTH
INTERVIEW WITH
ESSENCE, MRS. OBAMA
SPEAKS CANDIDLY
TO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
VANESSA K. BUSH
ABOUT HER PASSION
FOR HIGHER LEARNING,
WAYS TO NURTURE
RESILIENCE IN OUR KIDS
AND WHY PARENTAL
INVOLVEMENT PLAYS
A CRITICAL PART IN
SECURING THEIR FUTURE
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The First Lady was

photographed
exclusively for
ESSENCE, May 27,
2014, in the East
Reception Room of
the White House.
OneWorldMags.net
of the things Ive tried to tell
my kids is that there is nothing
cooler than a good education.
ESSENCE: Thank you for agreeing to speak with us
about your new childrens initiative and the importance
of parental engagement in our childrens education.
We know that parents cannot rely solely on educators
to encourage our kids pursuit of knowledge. How do
we get moms and dads to take more ownership?
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: I attribute so much
of my success to my parents involvement. My parents
were working-class folks. Neither of them went to college,
but there was something clear about their expectations
of us. There was no question in my mind, in my brothers
mind, that we were going to college. And that notion was
instilled in us at a very early age. What I think is important
for parents to know is that you dont have to be a collegeeducated, well-networked, well-nanced set of individuals to have that kind of impact.
I remember my mom being involved in our schools
from the beginning. She was one of those parents who
were active in the PTA. She was at the school ofce; she
was checking in on teachers. She was asking questions.
She knew who my teachers were. She knew how the
curriculum was being structured. And I know it was the
engagement of my mom and a couple of other parents at
my public school in Chicago that had a positive efect on
me and on so many others.
I want parents to know that its never too early to start
setting those expectations, and it doesnt require any particular skill set. It just requires a deep passion and belief
that education is the key to our childrens success.
ESSENCE: Our children also need to surround

themselves with equally motivated young people.
M.O.: Absolutely. You are dened by the people you are
hanging out with. Now is the time for young people not
to just focus on their social networks, TV, computers
or boyfriends. You have a lifetime for that, after youve
gotten that solid foundation of an education, and you
have a job to sustain all those wonderful wants, dreams
and wishes. Now is the time to invest in education and to
take it seriously.
I want to shake this message into our young people,
especially when we look at whats going on internationally with the girls in Nigeria who have been kidnapped
because they were trying to get an education. What I
want our young people to know is that in America, everyone has a school to go to. No one is going to be killed or
shot because they want an education. They might be shot
on the way to school because of their neighborhood. But
thats very diferent from not being able to get an education because youre a woman, because of the color of
your skin. We still struggle. We have a way to go in terms
of our public education in the United States. But every
child in America has a school to go to. And they need to
be sitting in the chair, in the school they need to go to, in
order to learn.
Thats what we should take from those girls struggling
in Nigeria. We cannot waste the opportunity that we have
here in America, especially as African-Americans. Our
ancestors fought and bled and died so that we could go
to school. And I still think about that. I think about it in my
role as First Lady, that I have an obligation to live up to
that legacy. And I thought about that when I was younger
and going to school. I thought about the kind of grades
I wanted to get, and where I wanted to go with my life.
I thought about all the sacrices that my parents made.
And I thought, Theres no way that Im going to waste
these opportunities.
ESSENCE: Did your parents

remind you at times about the
sacrifces that were made so
you and your brother could
have these opportunities? w
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HAIR, JOHNNY WRIGHT. MAKEUP, CARL RAY. PROP STYLIST, DORCIA KELLEY.
FOR CLOTHING AND HOME ACCESSORIES DETAILS, SEE WHERE TO BUY.
ESSENCE: We hear so much about how vital it is to have

the right attitude about getting an education in order
to succeed. How can we help our kids to develop a
growth mind-set?
M.O.: When I talk to my kids and other kids, I remind
them that knowledge is ever-evolving. What you know
isnt finite. Many kids will stop short of trying because
they think something is hard. They cant attain that
information, so they just dont try. But the growth happens in that struggle. You can get smarter by working
harder. The more you put into something, the more you
get out.
I know I tell my kids all the time that they shouldnt
shy away from difficult things, because that is the point
at which you are really growing. Its not just about
grades or test scores. Today our kids may shy away
from applying to college if they think they dont have
the right grade or test score. But the truth is that the
kids who succeed and go on to be successful professionals are the ones who know how to work hard.
Theyre the ones who are willing to roll up their sleeves,
try new things, fail, get up and try again. Thats what
we want kids to understand about education. We dont
want our kids to drop out because they believe they
can't do it.
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Mrs. Obama
enjoys the rstever White
House talent
show at the
White House on
May 20, 2014.
HOW YOU CAN FUND

YOUR CHILDS FUTURE
J IM WATSON/AFP/G E T T Y IMAG ES
Did you know that most students are eligible to receive nancial
aid from the federal government to help pay for college or a
career school? No matter your race, age or eld of study, you
can qualify. While your income is taken into consideration, it
does not automatically prevent you from getting assistance.
Here are resources you can tap into:
Scroll through the material at

this link to assess your eligibility for federal funds:
studentaid.ed.gov/sites/
default/les/eligibility.png.
Browse this page to brush up
on the nancial aid process:
default/les/nancial-aidprocess.png.
The online presentation
here helps separate myth
from reality in applying for
federal student aid:
default/les/myths.wmv.
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Watch this promo about the

grants, loans and workstudy
funds the U.S. Department of
Education makes available to
students across the country:
default/les/60-ProudSponsor.wmv.
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M.O.: You know, they didnt have

to. My parents subtly reminded
us, through their actions, how
much they were sacrifcing so
that we could have more. For
me, it didnt require a lecture.
I saw it; I realized how lucky I
was, how blessed I was. And for
that, I felt like I owed my parents,
at the very least, to make them
proud, to do the best I could
with my life.
ESSENCE: And do you think your girls feel the same way?
M.O.: I hope they do. Thats what we talk about. We talk
about responsibility and accountability, about making sure
that theyre not wasting the opportunities theyre given. We
make sure they know how lucky they are and that, because
of that, they have an obligation to have their acts together
and to take their education very seriously. But what we
realize as parents is that we have to deliver that message
again, and again and again and again, in subtle and deliberate ways. In our house we spend a lot of time talking around
the dinner table, and that is something I would encourage
other parents to do as well. We talk about the girls in
Nigeria. We talk about what it must feel like to live in a
country where you cant get an education as a young
woman and what that means for all girls in the world,
how that struggle impacts them.
ESSENCE: From the number of books Ive seen in your
ofce, reading must also be important to you as part of a
good education.
M.O.: I tell kids that if you do nothing else, read. Thats what
the President of the United States does. The more you read,
not only the more information you have in your head but
also the more youre able to articulate your own points and
views. Parents, read and talk to your kids. Encourage them
to use their voice. That was something my parents did for
us; they always asked our opinions. We were allowed to
practice expressing our thoughts and ideas. Around our
dinner table, it wasnt dont speak unless spoken to. That
wasnt the motto. The motto was, What do you think? Tell
me about your day. Why do you feel that way? Those are
the very subtle but important things that parents can do
now that dont cost any money or require any particular
kind of expertise. Those are all the tools kids need to be
comfortable in the classroom, then go on to sit in a lecture
hall at a university and be able to hold their own. It starts
with those conversations.
ESSENCE: Why do you think so many of our kids these
days see being smart as not being cool. What would
you say to them to change that way of thinking?
M.O.: The people we admire in our society today are
athletes, singers, reality stars. You dont see teachers

and doctors and lawyers revered in the same way. So,
naturally, kids gravitate to what they think is cool. But
one of the things Ive tried to tell my girls, and try to tell
all the children I talk to, is that there is nothing cooler
than having a good education. Education is going to
open the doors to the opportunities that are going to
give you the freedom later on in life to make really cool
choiceslike having a good job, being able to own a
home, being able to take vacations and travel the world.
Thats what being cool is.
ESSENCE: So many of our parents want to send their kids
to college, but paying for it can be a challenge. What
are some ways the federal government can help to make
education more accessible?
M.O.: Just a couple of months ago, I announced my new
initiative, Reach Higher, where our goal is to encourage and
inspire kids to get their education beyond high school. And
that can mean getting a professional training certicate,
it can mean a four-year college, a two-year collegeit will
look diferent for every kid depending upon where he or she
is. Being able to aford college is a barrier for many. I know
when I was growing up I had to take out loans in addition to
grants; my parents contributed a small portion to my education. There were many students my age whose parents
did not understand the investment in a college education,
so they werent as helpful. And thats why we encourage
parents to be aware, to go to the Web site, reachhigher.gov.
It has a whole array of tools and steps families can walk
through to gure out what they need to do and how they
can support their kids through this process.
One of the things that were trying to ofer to kids are some
tools to get there. Part of that tool kit is understanding the
nancial aid process. Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid [FAFSA; fafsa.ed.gov] is the rst step. [See
sidebar on the previous page for more resources.] It will give
them access to millions of dollars in grants. Parents need to be
involved in that decision as well, so were encouraging parents
to sit down with their high school students and walk them
through that process and know what theyre getting into.
ESSENCE: Many parents are themselves in pursuit of
higher education. What kind of encouragement would
you ofer them?
M.O.: I want the adults out there to know that if they are
parents or if they have students in their lives, just the sheer
fact that they are also pursuing an education will inspire so
many young people. One of the things we do know now is
that in order to compete in this ever-globalizing economy,
people here have to be well educated. Many will have to go
back and get retraining to compete for the jobs that are
going to be available. Oftentimes they will nd that they
cant wait for a job to come to them; they may have to go
out and get the training they need for the jobs that are
going to be available. Its important for adults not to get
stagnant in their lives. It is absolutely never too late.
Vanessa K. Bush (@Vanessa_KBush), in the tradition of hardworking
moms, believes in the importance of her kids education.
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Teach
your kids
how to
think,
reach
higher,
dream big
and plan
for the
future.
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S
M
O
Mon the
T
N
O
R
F
LINES
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tter future
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ZAKIYAH ANSARI, 47
JODIAH JACOBS
Advocacy Director, Alliance for

Quality Education, Brooklyn
Ansari used to spend long days just cooking, cleaning and caring for her husband and
their eight children. These days, the former
stay-at-home mom is also advocating for the
1.1 million students enrolled in New York City
public schools. My journey began 14 years
ago when I joined the parentteacher association, explains Ansari, who has put all of
her kids through the public school system.
From being a member of the PTA ,
Ansari went on to become a parent leader
with Brooklyn Education Collaborative, an
advocacy group. I realized that while my three
daughters had access to art and foreign language at their schools, other Brooklyn schools
had been starved of programs and money.
Thus, in 2006 the NYC Coalition for
Educational Justice (CEJ) was born. A
founding leader with CEJ, Ansari, along with
other parents, negotiated $5 million from
the Department of Education to fund school
improvements. CEJ works in partnership with
other groups to bring attention to the wave
of school closings across the country, which
seem to disproportionately afect Black and
Latino communities.
Last year Ansari was selected to serve
on New York mayor Bill de Blasios transition
team as a parent representative. Today shes
the advocacy director at Alliance for Quality Education, a group working for equitable
school-aid funding. Too many children are
being lost, Ansari says. Its an honor for me
to help them. w
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ALLISON R. BROWN, 38
Special Advisor, Open Society Foundations,

Washington, D.C.
KARRAN HARPER ROYAL, 51

Assistant Director, Pyramid Community
Parent Resource Center, New Orleans
When Royal saw her oldest son, Khristopher, of to kindergarten back in August 1991, she expected her energetic little boy to spend his days reciting the alphabet and coloring. Instead, each afternoon when Royal went to pick him
up, she would hear that hed been punished for acting out in
class. Khris was often made to sit out in the hall or sent to the
assistant principal, recalls Royal. I knew that if this continued,
he would miss out on a great deal of learning.
So Royal took a drastic step: That spring, she quit her
full-time job as a store manager and started
volunteering every day at her sons
school. In the second grade,
Khris was diagnosed
INGRID WALKER-HENRY, 37
Board Member, Milwaukee Teachers
Education Association, Milwaukee
Plenty of folks can speak in the abstract about the state of public schools, but Walker-Henry is in the trenches as a teacher,
union leader and community activist. After many years spent
guiding her own students, shes now an instructional coach
who helps her colleagues ne-tune their teaching methods. At
Auer Avenue elementary school, which is located in the one
of the poorest ZIP codes in Wisconsin, the soft-spoken educator says students walk to school in a neighborhood rife with
crime and poverty. We have a population of more than 300
students, and all but one child get free lunch, she says. Some
kids come to school needing glasses, shoes and clothes.
The institution also has a high mobility rate, meaning that
students might be enrolled one month and gone the next. If
a family can leave the neighborhood, they get out, WalkerHenry explains. Even if that means transferring kids during the
school year. But she lauds the faculty at Auer Avenue, as she
says they strive to give their young charges the best education
possible. We do our utmost to move them forward, she says .
Beyond the classroom Walker-Henry sits on the executive board of the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association
(MTEA), serving as secretary. And shes active with Schools
& Communities United, whose precursor group had suc86 ESSENCE .COM AUGUST 2014
.
on R
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Harper
Royal
ri d
I n g l ke r - d
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WALKER- H EN RY, JOE B RUSK Y. HARPER ROYAL, GUS B EN N E T T. ELLIS -STE WART,
MITCH ELL KE ARN E Y. B ROWN AN D RE YNOLDS , COU RTESY OF SU B J ECTS .
Brown, a Harvard-educated attorney, might have pursued

any number of specialties within the legal profession. But the
mother of two has found her passion by focusing on racial justice and educational equity and access. School should be a
place where children are nurtured into their greatness, she
says. Unfortunately, for many Black kids, thats not the case.
Brown is a special advisor at the Open Society Foundations,
which promotes progressive causes around the world. She
also heads an eponymous consulting rm, where she coaches
parents on how to advocate for their children. In addition,
she counsels schools on complying with civil rights laws that
pertain to public education, an area in which she is an expert,
having previously worked as a trial attorney for the Justice
Departments Civil Rights Division. I have litigated cases where
Black children, because of their race, were kicked out of school
and/or arrested for things like talking back to a school security
guard or wearing the wrong uniform, she says. Youre not seeing this happening to White students. Its unfair. Her advice to
parents: If you sense your childrens constitutional rights are
being violated, follow to your instincts. Speak up.
Brown hosts a weekly online radio talk show in which she
informs the public about education law and details how families,
students and educators can join forces to make their schools a
safe space for all children. Says Brown, I am fully committed to
working to see that this world allows all children to be the bright,
curious human beings they are.
cessfully fought the proposed mayoral takeover of Milwaukee Public Schools.

The issue most important to Walker-Henry is school funding. When the Milwaukee school board proposed to close Auer
Avenue in 2013, she spearheaded the community-wide efort to
stop it. Students, parents and teachers testied, and together
we saved it, she says. But the steady chipping away of funding
for the students who need it most has reached a critical point.
The latest thrust at Auer Avenue? Getting additional monies to
reduce class sizes and to provide tutoring and mental health
care. We know its an uphill battle, but we continue to ght for
these children every day, says Walker-Henry.
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with attention-decit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A few
years later she got online and spent countless hours researching educational resources for children afected by the disorder.
When Royal learned about the Individuals With Disabilities
Education Act, which governs special education services, she
held the school accountable for the support her son needed.
I got them to implement professional development for my sons
teachers so theyd learn how to work with students with ADHD.
Royal later joined a national advocacy group, Children and Adults
with Attention-Decit/Hyperactivity Disorders (CHADD), and
served on the board of directors for the organization.
Since then, Royal has become the assistant director of Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center, which provides support to parents of children with disabilities. Once I learned how
to help my children, I shared what I knew with other parents
and guardians, she says.
ERICKA M. ELLIS-STEWART, 40
At-Large Rep., Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Board of Education, Charlotte, NC
Ellis-Stewart has spent her life being mindful of the oft-quoted

statement Service is the rent we pay for being on this earth.
As a teen, she volunteered with the Greensboro Youth Council. When she started her own family, she became involved in
local education circles. By day she was running nonprots,
such as Right Moves for Youth, a dropout prevention program. In the
E ricka
Ellis-Ste M .
wart
evenings and on weekends, she was volunteering at her two

childrens schools.
Then in 2009, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district
unveiled a plan to close up to 15 schools, mostly in Black neighborhoods. Ellis-Stewart recalls, My sons school, Harding University High, was added to the list of closures. She organized
meetings and used social media to rally community members.
Agitation worked to avert the end of Harding, but nearly
a dozen other schools were shuttered. Eager to keep funding issues at the forefront, Ellis-Stewart became a founding
member of a grassroots advocacy group, Mecklenburg
Families Uniting To Uphold And Rescue Education (Meck
Future), which lobbied the Mecklenburg County commissioners for an additional $26 million for county schools. EllisStewarts growing public prole had people urging her to run
for ofce, and in 2011 she was elected to an at-large seat on the
nine-member county school board. Since then Ellis-Stewart
and her fellow board members have confronted subjects like
excessive standardized testing and racial disparities in school
disciplinary actions.
SHONEICE REYNOLDS, 33
Cofounder, Badass Moms Association,
Chicago
There was a time when Reynolds believed that budget cuts,

teacher layofs, violence and the other problems plaguing Chicagos public school system were someone elses concern. Early
on, both my boys attended a private Christian school, says the
single mother of Krisean, 16, and Asean, 10. But when Reynolds
accepted a substitute clerk position with Chicago Public Schools
(CPS) in 2008, her mind-set quickly changed. The schools were
very underfunded. Many didnt have enough books. Yet she saw
positive things happening in public schools, too, and made the
decision to enroll her sons.
Then in January 2013, the shocking announcement came
that CPS ofcials had proposed the closing of more than 60
schools, including Marcus Garvey Elementary, where Asean was
now a student. Reynolds helped launch the Save Marcus Garvey
School Campaign with rallies, letter drives and a petition that garnered thousands of signatures. Video footage of an impromptu
speech by Asean to save his school went viral, receiving more
than 300,000 views. Marcus Garvey Elementary was spared at
the eleventh hour, but the school board voted to close nearly
50 other public institutions, mostly in minority neighborhoods.
Reynolds was outraged, and in September 2013 she and 12 other
mothers founded Badass Moms Association (BAM), which
Sh
R
aims to eliminate the use of high-stakes testing, to increase
he eyno one
rs
i
o n l d s a ce
teacher
autonomy in the classroom and to include par,A
n
se d
an
ents, students and teachers in legislative processes. To date
the organization has some 1,400 members in more than 20
states. There is an attack on public education, says Reynolds.
The only way we are going to win is if parents take this on.
Donna M. Owens is an award-winning journalist.
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STANISLAV CHERENKOV/THE NOUN PROJECT.
GIRL, VECTORIG/G E T T Y IMAG ES .
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THE SECRETS TO
R AISING REALLY
SMART KIDS
Weve all heard the sobering statistics: When it comes to academic
achievement, African-American students are often coming up short,
falling behind their peers in standardized test scores, high school
graduation rates and enrollment in the most rigorous classes. But
we can make a change. Jeannine Amber asked experts across the
country for their best tips to propel our kids to excellence. It turns out
the key to academic success is not what weve been told.
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THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP
Whats behind these alarming

figures? Decades of studies have
revealed African-American students
consistently receive less rigorous
academic preparation than their
White peers, leading many activists
to call the achievement gapthe
diference in performance between
one racial group and anotherthe civil
rights issue of our time. This year the
DOEs Ofce for Civil Rights released
Other experts point to the welldocumented link between socioeconomics and achievement to explain why Black
children are falling behind. Thirty-eight
percent of Black children in this country
live below the poverty level. Poor children disproportionately attend the most
underfunded and lowest-performing
schools, and almost 25 percent never
graduate from high school. But according to research out of Harvard University,
Black students whose parents

earned more than $200,000 per
year scored as poorly on the SATs
as White children whose parents
earned less than $40,000.
data that showed African-American
children are signicantly more likely to
go to a preschool stafed by teachers
with less experience than teachers at
predominantly White schools. AfricanAmerican students are frequently on
the lowest rung of the achievement
and opportunity ladders, says David
J. Johns, the executive director of the
White House Initiative on Educational
Excellence for African-Americans. The
health and well-being of our country
requires that we nd ways to provide
opportunities particularly for those who
are often neglected, forgotten about
or ignored.
the achievement gap is widest among

children of well-educated parents. The
Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
reported in 2009 that Black students
whose parents earned more than
$200,000 per year on average scored
as poorly on the SATs as White children
whose parents earned less than $40,000.
Reversing this trend will take a coordinated efort between teachers, legislators and activists. But the good news is
that experts say the most important factor in improving childrens chances for
success is the role parents play. We have
the power to close the achievement gap
and to propel our kids to greatness.
Get Ahead
The years before your
youngster begins school are
some of the most important for brain development.
Parenting behaviors adults
exhibit at home can help
prepare infants and toddlers
for maximum learning.

Harvard education expert
Ronald Ferguson shares
his best tips for equipping
your little ones with the
tools to flourish before
they enter school .
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Limit the Baby Talk: Speak to

your baby in your regular voice.
Babies are hearing language
and encoding it as soon as they
are born, says Ferguson. Too
much baby talk represents
a lost opportunity.
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atasha Capers remembers holding

each of her two sons
the moment they
were born and envisioning all that was
possible. Hell be a doctor, she thought
of her rst. This one might be an engineer, she imagined two years later when
her second son arrived. But as the boys,
now 10 and 8, entered school, Capers
began to worry that their prospects
for success were slipping away. My
school doesnt have a science lab or a
library, says the single mother, who lives
in poverty-stricken Brownsville, Brooklyn, a neighborhood she describes as a
place everyone forgot.
Capers has reason to be concerned.
In March the Department of Education
(DOE) and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a philanthropic organization aimed
at fostering success in disadvantaged
children, both issued reports detailing
persistent racial inequalities in American
schools. According to the reports, Black
children have less access to educational
opportunities that will prime them for
college. African-American students, particularly boys, score lower on standardized tests, have lower high school graduation rates and are more likely to drop
out of college than their White peers.
This disparity begins early. In a 2013
survey of academic achievement, the
DOE reported that 83 percent of Black
fourth-graders scored below prociency
levels in reading, and 82 percent of Black
eighth-graders performed below prociency in math.
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START EARLY
F
or decades weve focused our

attention on creating better
schools as a way to close the
performance gap. But according to
Ronald Ferguson, faculty director
of the Achievement Gap Initiative
at Harvard University, the disparity between Black and White children
begins before theyve even set foot
in a classroom. From our research,
were seeing that the gap opens up
when the children are between 1 and
2 years old, explains Ferguson.
Figures compiled by the DOE reveal
that Black and White children as young
as 9 months displayed cognitive diferences as measured by such markers
as exploring purposefully, jabbering
expressively and early problem
solving.
To address these disconnects,
Ferguson and his colleagues have been
developing a comprehensive program
called Seeding Success, aimed at teaching parents of children newborn to age 3
the best methods to enhance early brain
DIVORCE OR DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE CAN IMPACT
PERFORMANCE
development. Weve identied

what we call the fundamental
ve, says Ferguson, referring to
distinct parenting behaviors that
have been shown to set the stage
for achievement. Fergusons fundamentals include having lots of skinto-skin contact between parents and
infants, encouraging crawling babies
to explore their surroundings, and
engaging preschoolers in conversations about the text as you read to them
aloud. As brains are developing, learning actually induces physical change,
says Ferguson. So all the stuf were
talking about is helping to build brain
architecture that is going to serve children over a lifetime.
Ferguson says one of the most
important fundamentals is maximizing love and minimizing stress.
Stress can be triggered in children by
all kinds of external stimuli, explains
Nadine Burke Harris, founder and CEO
of San Franciscos Center for Youth
Wellness and expert on the impact of
MAXIMIZE LOVE AND

MINIMIZE STRESS
The efects of stress,

and its impact on
cognition, can be
seen in children as
young as newborns.
stress
on
children.
Experiencing
divorce,
domestic
violence,
the loss of a parent (to death or
incarceration) and witnessing neighborhood violence can impact their
performance at school, she says.
The efects of stress, and its impact
on cognition, can be seen in children as
young as newborns. Too much stress
causes chemical reactions that can
retard brain development, explains
Ferguson. Studies show infants sufer
from elevated levels of the hormone
cortisol, which interferes with concentration and memory, after prolonged
periods of crying without being comforted. Also stressful for babies, says
Ferguson, are loud, sudden noises. Think
of the way your baby startles when she
hears a door slam. Or glance at your
babys expression the moment after
you yell at your older kid and youll
notice that you scared the baby more
than the other child, says Ferguson.
That is a negative moment for brain
development.
BUILDING BRAIN
ARCHITECTURE SERVES
KIDS OVER A LIFETIME
ACHIEVEMENT RX: To promote infant

brain development, create a relaxing environment and engage in lots of
touching, holding, talking and eye-toeye contact. w
STRESS CAN IMPEDE A CHILDS

ABILITY TO LEARN.
Let Them Explore: Time
out of the playpen to explore
surroundings is essential for helping children understand spatial
relationships and will even help
with their handwriting when they
enter school, says Ferguson.
Count Objects: Develop math

skills by playing number games
with toddlers. Have interactions
about how big something is or
how far away it is, says Ferguson.
Teach your kid to count and add
using coins or beads.
Read and Discuss: As cute as it is

when a 3-year-old knows a book
by heart, learning happens when
you introduce new material. As
you read, pause and ask your little
one what happened and what she
thinks will happen next.
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THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP
BUILD CHARACTER
t has been widely accepted that the

best way to ready young children for
academic success is to focus on the basics:
reading, writing and arithmetic. However,
new research suggests that soft skills, or
character strengths, also play an important role in getting ahead. Things like
the ability to persevere at a difcult task,
to bounce back from disappointment or
to calm down after a stressful situation
matter as much as, if not more than, IQ in
how well children do in school, explains
Paul Tough, author of How Children
Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden
Power of Character (Mariner).
So how do you imbue your child with
soft skills? The parenting style linked most
strongly to achievement is one that balances expectations with ample doses of
warmth and responsiveness. That means
assigning house rules goes hand in hand
with having discussions about what the
child is thinking and feeling. So when

your kid is acting up, Ask her, Whats
going on? Why are you upset? counsels
Tough. Help your child articulate her woes
by giving her a vocabulary of emotions.
Ask, Are you angry, frustrated or sad?
And let her know youre listening. As your
child enters adolescence, help build resilience by allowing her to make mistakes
and learn from them.
What we are talking about is a growth
mind-set, adds psychiatrist Joe Brewster,
who, along with his wife, lmmaker and
human rights attorney Michle Stephenson, coauthored Promises Kept: Raising
Black Boys to Success in School and in
Life (Spiegel & Grau). Growth mind-set
is an educational model that encourages
students to see learning as the process of
becoming better at something, as opposed
to a xed mind-set, in which academic
performance is seen as a measure of ones
intelligence. A child with a xed mind-set

will think, I failed, therefore I am a failure. A
student with a growth mind-set will think,
I messed up; what can I learn from this? A
2001 study found that students who were
taught a growth mind-set in college experienced signicant boosts in their GPAs
compared with other students. Those
who showed the greatest gains were
African-Americans.
Sometimes Black students see failure
as an afrmation of the stereotype that
were not smart, adds Stephenson. This
idea gets perpetuated by teachers who expect less from our boys. Other cultures embrace failure as a way of moving forward.
This is where our shift has to happen.
ACHIEVEMENT RX: When your child
stumbles, point out the valuable
lessons hes learned as you help him
get back on track.
Growth mind-set encourages students to see

learning as becoming better at something, as
opposed to a xed mind-set, in which performance is seen as a measure of ones intelligence.
TACKLE BIAS
M
any African-American parents

with children at predominantly
White schools often wonder if their kids
are treated diferently because of the
color of their skin. A 2013 Kirwan Institute
report analyzed the race-based assumptions some teachers make about
students. Chief among them is that Black
students, particularly boys, are less intelligent and more poorly behaved. This bias
leads to disproportionate
rates of Black boys being suspended from
school and lowered teacher expectations,

which can cause kids to underperform.
In their riveting 2013 documentary,
American Promise, Brewster and Stephenson detail their son Idriss 12 years
at Dalton, an exclusive Manhattan prep
school. When Idris was in rst grade, Stephenson says, a teacher told her that testing had revealed he was behind in reading. When she spoke to us, the teachers
tone was so condescending, recalls
Stephenson. As though we had diferent
standards for our son than the rest of the
42% of suspended 3- and

4-year-olds are Black.
parents. Stephenson, knowing Idris to be

a strong reader, insisted on more testing,
which conrmed he was on track.
Fortunately, the efects of implicit
bias can be undone by active parenting. The goal, adds Travis Gosa, assistant
professor of Africana studies at Cornell
University, is to have the teacher become
personally invested in your childs future:
Developing good relationships with
teachers helps them imagine that your
child is their child. Thats when theyll
connect your kid to real opportunities.
ACHIEVEMENT RX: Make an appointment with your childs teacher to talk
about what he likes to read and his
hobbies. Shine a light on him early and
often so the teacher takes notice.
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Praising children for

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NEGOTIATE
WITH YOUR TEEN
their efort helps them

develop condence.
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ornell Universitys Gosa, who has been studying the achievement

gap for more than a decade, has a particular interest in what happens to Black students once they arrive at college. According to 2012
statistics from the DOE, there is almost a 20 percent gap in the graduation rates between White and Black college students. The students
least likely to graduate are young Black men. Gosa notes that some
African-American students, especially those who are the rst in their
families to attend college, may struggle with feelings of inadequacy that
can inadvertently lead to lower grades: Im amazed at how often I have to
coax Black students to introduce themselves and tell me where they are
from and what they are interested in. By comparison, Gosa says, White
students routinely come to his ofce to discuss that days class or to dispute their grades. Gosa says these students have been trained since
childhood to negotiate with authority, often to their advantage. These
types of interactions with professors can make huge diferences in grading outcomes, letters of recommendation or acquiring scholarships and
fellowships, he explains. Even so, Black parents often raise their children
with a diferent type of home training. We tend to boss our kids around,
says Ferguson, who explains that generations ago this was a matter of
survival. We had to teach children early on to be obedient, without
talking back or asking questions. But thats no longer the parenting
style thats likely to serve them best. Responsive parenting teaches
children to expect to be respected by and to engage in conversations
with authority gures. This helps children develop a sense of empowerment and prepares them to advocate for themselves, which supports
higher achievement.
ACHIEVEMENT RX: Engage children in thoughtful negotiations over
matters that are important to them. If your daughter asks for a new
iPhone or a later curfew, insist that she present a solid argument.
You might even let her win.
There is almost a
20% gap in
the graduation
rates between
White and Black
college students.
FOCUS ON
HARD WORK
his past April, 17-year-old GhanaianAmerican student Kwasi Enin made

headlines for being accepted into all eight Ivy
League schools. When he spoke to the press
about his achievement, he remarked that his
parents never accepted a grade lower than a
95. While Enins parents high expectations
yielded amazing results for their son, for many
kids, focusing on efort may be even more benecial than focusing on grades.
For more than a decade, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck has researched achievement
among public school children. In one pivotal
study, Dweck engaged a group of fth-graders
in a task; afterward teachers praised half the
students for being good workers and the
other half for being smart. The students were
then ofered an opportunity to work on a challenging or an easy task. Those whod been told
they were hard workers chose the difcult
puzzle, while those praised for being smart
selected an easier task. Praising children for
their efort helps them develop condence to
tackle obstacles, a trait imperative for success.
We can pretend that every kid should be
able to get really high grades, but thats not realistic, says Ferguson. One of my sons was an A
student, another got Cs when he worked hard.
If my A student came home with Cs, wed have a
conversation. If my C student came home with
C+s, wed celebrate. Most parents know when
their children are working hard. And the harder
you exercise the brain, the smarter you get.
ACHIEVEMENT RX: Praise your child for the
hours she spends on her homework. That
focus, drive and work ethic will carry her a
lot further than winning an easy A.
Jeannine Amber is an ESSENCE contributing writer.
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P
M
JU
I N TO YOU R
DR EA M S
GET TING THE LIFE YOU WANT TAKES TIME, FOC
US AND
MOST IMPORTANTDEDICATION. JUST ASK STEVE HARVEY

,
WHO IS JUMPING INTO THE PE

RSONAL EMPOWERMENT SPAC
E,
AND WANTS YOU TO TA
KE THE LEAP WITH HIM
BY TAMARA E. HOLMES | ILLUSTRATIONS BY MR. Z
ITS HARD TO GO A WEEK WITHOUT EXPERIENCING

STEVE HARVEY. Whether were nodding our heads to his
frank analysis of a Strawberry Letter on The Steve Harvey
Morning Show, watching him crack a joke on Family Feud or
listening to him tell it like it is on the Steve Harvey daytime talk
show, many of us invite him into our lives on a daily basis.
Now he wants us to join him on a more intimate quest: the
journey to our own personal greatness. For 30 years, Ive been
the entertainer, Harvey says. And he wants to tell us what hes
learned along the way. God had me go through everything Ive
gone through so that I can share it, he says. I can take this
information and give it to those who are willing to receive it.
To do this, he has enlisted the help of Lisa Nichols, one of
the most sought-after motivational speakers in the country and
author of six books, including No Matter What! 9 Steps to Living
the Life You Love. Called The Breakthrough Specialist for her
ability to help move people from breakdown to breakthrough,
Nichols is perhaps best known for her appearance in The Secret,

the movie that explains the law of attractionthe belief that our
thoughts create our realities.
The two have collaborated on the book Act Like a Success,
Think Like a Success, which will be released in September. They
have also created an online home-study course, and will be touring the country this fall not just sharing principles of success but
also using Harveys own transformation as a blueprint for others
to follow. Were giving it to you with the intent to really heal and
change, Harvey says.
Ready to go for your dreams? Follow these steps to be
transformed, and get a sneak peek into the wisdom that Harvey
and Nichols are ready to share.
Step One:
ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR PAIN.

The rst time Harvey and Nichols met, they didnt exactly hit it
of. Nichols recalls encountering Harvey at an event nearly a w
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decade ago. The man she met then is not the man she knows
today, she says emphatically. I saw a hurting man, and sometimes when youre hurting you hurt others, she says. While
Nichols is diplomatic in her assessment, Harvey cuts more to
the chase. She didnt like me, he says.
During that time, Harvey explains, he was going through a
bitter divorce. Forget the suits, forget the Kings of Comedy,
forget all that, he says. I was in a world of pain and I was in a
miserable place in my life. As a result, he says, he would lash
out at people because he didnt feel good about himself.
Harvey doesnt share his story in a bid for sympathy or as
a way to explain away his behavior. Hes just telling it like it is.
I made mistakes. I made bad choices. I did some bad things.
And I kept myself on a treadmill of just looping over the pain
because I couldnt x it, he says.
Recognizing your pain and how bad you feel today is not
about making excuses; its about standing in your personal
truth, which is crucial to transformation. Ill never stand up
there and tell somebody [transformation is] going to be easy.
Its going to be funky some days, Harvey says.
Step Two: SHIFT TO A PLACE OF GRATITUDE.

When life gets hard, its easy to see all the things that arent
going right. However, in order for change to occur, you must
look for positive things to focus on, even if you can only manage to be thankful for ve minutes a day.When Harveys marriage and personal life were in shambles, the only refuge I had
was walking onstage, he recalls. However, he appreciated the
fact that at least his comedy career was going well.As Harvey
made an efort to be grateful whenever something went right
no matter how small it washis ability to stay in a state of gratitude grew. Now he says, I live in gratitude, I stay in gratitude and
I invite everyone else around

me to be in gratitude.
Step Tree:
EMBRACE A VISION.
In order to keep yourself
motivated, youve got to
have a dream. Whether
your goal is to start your
own business or to raise
healthy and happy children,
you need something to work
toward. If you dont have a vision,
what are you waking up for? Harvey
asks. Once you have a vision, nd a way to
remind yourself regularly of where youre
trying to go. Three years ago, Harvey created a vision boarda collection of images
and afrmations that reect your goalsand
wrote down that he would become one of the
premier motivational speakers in the country.
Since then, the board has inspired him to take
steps to make that dream a reality.
Step Four: START WALKING TOWARD THE VISION.

Most people put a vision out there and then they just daydream,
Nichols says. Thats not going to cut it. Youve got to get up
every day and strap your vision to your back like a backpack. If
youre not walking in the direction of your dreams, youre walking
in the opposite direction. Though Harvey longed to be a motivational speaker, he didnt sit around waiting for an opportunity
to fall out of the sky. He found ways to empower people and
HOW STEVE AND LISA WILL

BRING THEIR MESSAGE TO THE
MASSES THIS YEAR
Power couple:
Steve Harvey
and Lisa Nichols
THE TOUR
Starting this fall, Harvey and Nichols
will travel across the country teaching
crowds how to attract success through
the Act Like a Success tour. Theyll
share what theyve done really, really
right in their lives, Nichols says, and
the things we did really, really wrong.
THE ONLINE CLASSES

Cant make it to the tour? Log on
to your computer. Were going
to do a home-study course so
we can touch people around the
world, Nichols says. Find out
more about how to sign up at
actlikeasuccess.com.
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CHAD OU B RE
THE BOOK
Act Like a Success, Think Like
a Success (Amistad) explains
how everyone has a unique gift
that no one can take away. It
also details how to discover
that gift and make the most
of it.
There are takeaways in Steve Harvey and Lisa Nicholss transformational

advice for everybody, says Harvey. There are also multiple ways to receive
the lessons. Heres how you can join the journey to inner wisdom:
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give them advice throughout his
career. Bill Cosby once told him that
when you have the ability to make
people laugh, you have their undivided attention, and when you have
their undivided attention, you can
tell them anything. So Harvey would
impart wisdom through jokes. Even
in my comedy, I used to speak on
race, he says. And then I would
stop and tell men how to really get
their life in order.
Step Six: PRACTICE PATIENCE.

Many people are looking for the quick x to lifes challenges, but
one does not exist, Nichols says. Youre going to have some
bloody knees, youre going to have some scraped-up elbows,
she says. There are also going to be some times when youre
the only one walking. Thats because each of us has our own
dream and vision to move toward, so you cant expect anyone
not your mother, not your spouse, not your childto be able to
accompany you on your personal journey the entire way. Harveys own journey through the personal empowerment space
has not happened overnight. Its been three years since he put the
motivational-speaking dream on his vision board, and hes still
THE ONLY WAY TO GET
YOUR PARACHUTE
OPEN SO YOU CAN SOARYOUVE GOT TO JUMP...
AND STAY READY TO DO IT AGAIN.

When he wrote his best-selling books Act
Like a Lady, Think Like a Man and Straight Talk, No Chaser: How
to Find, Keep, and Understand a Man, he inspired women to
own their power in relationships. And after watching the movie
The Secret one Thanksgiving holiday, Harvey was so impressed
by the wisdom that Nichols doled out in the lm that he contacted her and asked her to serve as a teacher and mentor to
him in the motivational eld. The reason the two of them made
this collaboration work, Nichols says, is because he was walking toward me and I was walking toward him.
Step Five: GET READY TO JUMP.

True transformation is not for the faint of heart. In order to
achieve your dreams, you have to jump, or take a leap of faith.
In a YouTube video, Harvey speaks about the topic, saying,
A lot of times you stand on the clif of life and you see other
people soaring by, gliding down like a bird ying through the
air. You know theyre going over to the South of France, you
see them on boats somewhere, you see their family vacationing here or their family vacationing there. The secret to their
success? Their parachute opened, he says. And the only
way to get your parachute open so you can soaryouve got
to jump. While some motivational speakers might end the
message on that feel-good note, Harvey pulls no punches
about the pain that will accompany the leap. When you
jump, I can assure you of one thing, he continues. Your
parachute will not open right away. Youre going to hit those
sides and those rocks. Youre going to tear your back out on
them clifs. Youre going to cut yourself. Youre going to get
wounded. But if you hang in there, Harvey promises, eventually the parachute will open and youll be soaring.
STEVE HARVE Y
taking steps to get there. To be successful, youve got to be

willing to be in it for the long haul, Nichols says. Most
people are not successful because they dont want to
be inconvenienced, she adds. Success is sexy in the image,
but the journey will kick your tail.
Step Seven: BE READY TO JUMP AGAIN.

As difcult as it is to become successful, its even harder to
stay there, Harvey says. You have to keep readjusting the goal
and the vision. In other words, youve got to stay ready
to jump. With this motivational-speaking venture, Im
jumping again, Harvey says. Im taking another leap of faith.
That doesnt mean hes not afraid. Will he make a mistake?
Will his fans accept him in this new role? I grapple with
my fear all the time, he says. But guess what? If I do not
make the move, aint no move going to get made. From
her vantage point as his teacher, Nichols believes Harvey is
more than ready. Hes stepping into an industry thats new
for him but I live, breathe, walk, talkI sweat this, Nichols
says. For him, his strength is who he is. Every time he opens
his mouth theres a profound nuggettheres something
coming out. All Im going to do is help shape it in such a
way where the audience begins to move from his fans to
becoming his students. For Harvey, this latest jump may
be the most meaningful leap of all. Ive been entertaining
people and Ive been helping them in my own way because
you know laughter is great medicine for the soul, he says. But
this part of my life right herethis part that Ive transformed
intothis will be my legacy.
Tamara E. Holmes is a frequent ESSENCE contributor.
TABLET EXTRA Watch a conversation between Steve Harvey

and Lisa Nichols about their partnership on the Act Like a Success series.
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B RIAN DOB EN/CONTOU R BY G E T T Y IMAG ES
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MAYA ANGELOU
THOUGH WE HAVE LOST A MOTHER
AND A FRIEND, MAYA ANGELOUS SPIRIT AND
INFLUENCE WILL ENDURE FOR GENERATIONS.
IN AN ESSENCE TRIBUTE, 11 LUMINARIES SALUTE
OUR TREASURED HEROINE AND RECALL DEAR
MEMORIES OF HOW MAYA TOUCHED THEIR LIVES
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Angelou in the
early 1980s, then a
professor at Wake Forest
University in WinstonSalem, North Carolina
ITS THE JOURNEY

THAT MATTERS
BY MARCIA ANN GILLESPIE
Marcia Ann Gillespie is a former editor-in-chief of ESSENCE and Ms.
At age 10, I memorized Phenomenal Woman. For the first

time, a standard of beauty applied to me. Shonda Rhimes, producer
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COU RTESY OF WAKE FOREST U NIVERSIT Y
e know that death comes to us all. Marguerite Johnson, the woman the world knew as
Maya Angelou, never feared the end. She was
a woman who refused to be fettered by the worlds narrow dictates about race, gender and sexual orientation;
about how Colored girls and Negro womenAll women! All
men!were supposed to be and behave. She claimed her
right to live in the world, to discover herself, to own her life
and to enjoy it.
For 40 years, I was blessed by her friendship. I was
barely in my thirties when she extended her hand to me.
She invited me to lunch and I was in awe. There I was, practically tongue-tied, sitting across the table from one of my
sheroes. And when she told me how much she admired
the work I was doing at ESSENCE my spirit leapt, because
this tall, elegant, eloquent, beautiful woman embodied the
magazines raison dtre. Her rst memoir, I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings, had proven wrong all the people who dismissed and discounted Black women writers. She proved
that her words, our words, her story and our stories mattered, that our books could y of the shelves. Her success
paved the way for her sister writers, seeded the ground for
ESSENCE; her insights and tothe-bone honesty fueled and

informed countless conversations in the magazines pages.
Back in the day, Black womens beauty was routinely denigrated. Maya Angelou showed
us that we, in all our shades and
shapes, are beautiful, and encouraged us to break those distorted
mirrors and see ourselves with
fresh eyes. She didnt look like a
White girl lightly dipped in chocolate, nor did she strive to emulate that. She knew that she was
beautiful because of the color
of her skin, her full nose, her
voluptuous lips, her bold butt
and broad back, the life-giving
bliss between her thighs. And
ESSENCE strived to showcase
the beauty she saw in us in our
pages and on our covers.
It was Mayas love for this
magazine and what we were trybell hooks, author
ing to accomplish that brought
her to us. And when Maya embraced you, she made you
welcome in her home and at her table. She shared her
stories and laughter, celebrated our triumphs, mourned
our losses, ofered advice. She was the wise elder friend
I turned to when my compass failed and I needed to nd
my true north. I learned to be more gracious and less judgmental by watching and listening to Maya. She was ever the
teacher, but never pedantic. She never stopped learning,
read voraciously and was eager to share her discoveries
with you. She shared those things with the world because
she loved us and believed in our capacity to rise.
Years ago, she said, Id like to be thought of as someone
who tried to be a blessing rather than a curse on the human
race. She was. She is.
Somewhere in the nooks and corners of the globe,
someone is reading one of her books, reciting one of her
poems, listening to her rich, melliuous voice as she ofers
guidance, solace or affirmation. Her words continue to
inspire and inform, challenge and change us. She constantly
afrms us: Us women, us Black women, us human beings.
Maya called
out the truism
that we are
rarely alone
when we are
living lives
of betrayal.
Those words
have served
as a constant
reminder
that we must
remain faithful even if it
means being
alone.
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1970, a year after
Caged Birds debut
CLOCK WISE FROM TOP LEF T: MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/G E T T Y IMAG ES (2); COU RTESY OF E VERE T T COLLECTION; ABC PHOTO ARCHIVES/G E T T Y
IMAG ES; JOH N SOTOMAYOR / TH E N E W YORK TIM ES/REDUX; MARY ELLEN MARK (2); RON G ROEPER; H U LTON ARCHIVE /G E T T Y IMAG ES .
A portrait of Angelou
as a dancer, circa 1950
A still from
her 1957 lm,
Calypso Heat Wave
A promotional
photo for
her album,
Miss Calypso
On the Roots
set, with director Alex Haley
With exhusband,
Paul du Feu
Being interviewed for The

New York Times
Laughing with
her son, Guy
Johnson
Hugging her
mother, Vivian
BLACK-TIE AND BARBECUE

BY RITA DOVE
aya and I rst met when she came to the University of Virginia to give a reading.
A few years later, she rang me up out of the blue. Rita! she said. It is shameful. Toni Morrison received the Nobel Prize half a year ago, but shes yet to be celebrated properly. You have been poet laureate since last fall, and I have not noticed that this was
addressed in the Black community. Toni and you need a party. Ive decided to give you one.
Now, a party thrown by Maya Angelou exploded every denition of revelry. Guests ew into
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and were whisked by limousine to Mayas house, where a veritable Whos Who of Notable Negroes mingled under the tents erected in her backyard: Sonia
Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Oprah Winfrey, Angela Davis, to name a few. There was a formal dress
code, yet the menu was boisterously Down-Home, with ribs and okra, fried chicken and biscuits.
There were hugs and gufaws, animated gesturing and licked ngers as Maya, resplendent in a
gilded purple caftan, moved through the multitudes bearing a tray of barbecue chicken. She had
made most of the food herself. Black-tie and barbecue: It was Mayas way of showing us all how
to cherish our roots while keeping our sights on the stars.
Mayas
articulation of
Black womens
imagery is
forever steeped
in the simple
yet seismicshifting notion
that we are
limitless.
Ava DuVernay,
lmmaker
The Pulitzer Prizewinning Rita Dove is the rst Black poet laureate of the U.S. w
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OUR MAYA
BY EDWIDGE DANTICAT
Angelou at
home in 2006
A Ghana
postage
stamp in
her honor
Edwidge Danticat is an award-winning author.
Reciting On the
Pulse of Morning at
President Clintons
1993 inauguration
Angelou and
Coretta Scott King
Flanked by
Cicely Tyson
and Oprah
Directing her lm
Down in the Delta
Maya
encouraged
us to grow
into our
power. Her
fierce honesty showed
that it was
possible to be
your Black
woman self
and hold
your head
high.
Chirlane McCray,
rst lady of
New York City
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CARRY ON
BY NIKKY FINNEY
In April 1998 I read poetry at a

lm festival as a warm-up act for
Miss Angelou. Near the end of her
talk, a man called my name. Miss
Angelou would like you to join her
for dinner. He didnt wait for my
answer. He just led me to a limousine. Miss Angelou was seated
inside. I got in, squirming a little.
Then she spoke: Why dont I
know your work, young lady?
She continued, I heard you reading from my dressing room. Your
voice brought me out. Angelou's
voice had helped bring me out
into the world of writing. Now here
she was telling me that my voice
had brought her out of her dressing room. It was unforgettable.
Nikky Finney is an award-winning poet.
CLOCK WISE FROM TOP LEF T: AP PHOTO/PAB LO MARTIN EZ MONSIVAIS; K WAKU ALSTON/CORB IS OUTLIN E; AP PHOTO/PATSY LYNCH; LEIF SKOOG FORS/
CORBIS; KMA ZU R / WIREIMAG E; MIR AMA X /COU RTESY OF E VERE T T COLLECTION; PAU L MORIGI/AP IMAG ES FOR NATIONAL PORTR AIT GALLERY.
Receiving
the Medal of
Freedom from
President
Barack Obama
he rst time I heard Dr. Maya Angelou speak, I was a

graduate student at Brown University. She dazzled a
packed hall lled with people of all ages and races, and
had us laughing, crying, singing, all in one glorious hour. At one
point, a woman stood up and, with tears in her eyes, told Dr.
Angelou that she had saved her life. Shed been planning her
suicide, she said, when she came across one of Dr. Angelous
poems, and after reading it, she vowed to go on living.
This is one of the most powerful gifts any artist can hope to
ofer the world: a lifes work that soars beyond art into the realm
of survival. We were not mere consumers of Dr. Angelous work;
we were fellow travelers on a brutal, exuberant journey.
The rst book I read in English was I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings. So enthralled was I with this intimate telling of her
childhood that I read the book several times. I treasured every
word, as if they had been written just for me.
A few years after my rst novelbased on sexual repression
and abusewas published, I found myself sitting on a panel with
Dr. Angelou. Before we began, I told her how reading Caged Bird
had saved my life. She leaned over and took my hand, and in that
booming melodious voice almost sang the words, Well, isnt
that miraculous? Dr. Angelou was also miraculous. But most
important, she was our Maya.
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Maya was
unafraid
to tell it
the way
grandma
told itlike
it was
and is.
I loved every word of it, starting with

the dedication Dr. Maya wrote for her son:
For all the Strong Black Birds of Promise
/ Who Defy the Odds and Gods / And
Sing Their Songs. How did she see me
when all those teachers did not? Was
I a Black Bird? Did I have promise? It
would be years before I felt I could
lurch toward an answer to those
questions, years of shaking of that
cloak of invisibility. And while there
is still more work to do, I know now
what I didnt know then, that like
my mother before me, and like my
daughter after me, I am a river owing with possibility and life. And every
river has a source. Dr. Maya Angelou
was the source.
asha bandele is a former ESSENCE editor.
Pearl Cleage is an author and professor.
Angelou in the 1980s
THE SOURCE
BY ASHA BANDELE
BY PEARL CLEAGE
I learned how to do my job from

Maya Angelou. No, she didnt teach
me how to write. She showed me
how to be a writer.
She invited me into her tight circle
at the home of renowned Black scholar
Dr. Richard Long. I was hovering around
the edges of the gathering when
Dr. Long took me by the hand and led
me into the kitchen to meet the guest
of honor. She looked up from where she
was stirring a steaming pot of something that smelled delicious and smiled
like she had been waiting just for me.
Well, she said, coming around to
hug me, there you are. How is your
work going? More than most of the
writers I know, Maya was comfortable
talking about her process and yours.
Her poems are deceptive in their directness and simplicity. They are like conversations conducted on a front stoop.
They have the quiet intensity of latenight true confessions and the glorious
whoop of Sunday celebration.
And now she has left us. She has
transitioned peacefully with the grace
that was always hers in life. And in
this moment, we are moved to celebrate her, not to mourn her passing. We
are moved to remember her truth and
her passion and her laughter and her
incandescent writing. We are moved to
rededicate ourselves to living our lives
fully, lled with joy and truth and sex
and work and friendship and love.
Susan L. Taylor,
ESSENCE editorin-chief emerita
ts quite a thing to be alive and

not have it noticed, to be a human
and not have it acknowledged,
to have a voice and not have it
heard. It can make you almost feel
insane, and then it can just break
you. I had poems in my head, in my
heart, but was afraid of them, afraid
of my own voice. I was embarrassed
about my words because they didnt
seem remotely related to the authors
I was told to study if I wanted to be
educated, if I wanted to matter.
One time, Id gone into the library and
stumbled onto the section reserved for
Black authors. Id never seen anything so
labeled. Black Authors? Mostly I picked
up books of poetry, but then also a memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Was this a book written just for me?
CELEBRATION
THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION
A ARON R APOPORT/CORBIS
ANGELOU CHRONICLED HER EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OVER SEVEN BOOKS. THE POETS
BEAUTIFUL MEMORY LIVES ON FOREVER IN HER WORDS AND IN OUR HEARTS
TABLET EXTRAS Watch Maya Angelous

last video interview for ESSENCE.
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PROMOTION
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for exclusive beauty tips at National Beauty Editors Day, August 7th,
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25 brands and 25 magazines will mark the 25th anniversary of the
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DENTYNE ICE IS
YOUR BREATHS FRIEND
Whether youre headed to a morning meeting,
happy hour with friends, or even date night
fresh breath can make all the diference.
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A Legacy
of Love
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

and Coretta Scott King
remain an iconic example
of Black love. Bernice
King, 51, shares the
impact her parents have
had on her quest for a
lasting love of her own
AS TOLD TO
CHARREAH K. JACKSON
TH E WASHINGTON POST/G E T T Y IMAG ES
Like a lot of women, I hope to

marry someone like my dad.
My father just happens to
be Martin Luther King, Jr. Being
the daughter of a civil rights
legend works for some areas,
but hasnt always been a plus
on the dating scene. I will
probably never say to a man
Youre just like my dad,
because he was one of a kind.
His spirituality, his intellect and
his commitment to changing
the world are all traits I look for
in the man I hope to one day
marry. Its not just someone
similar to the public persona of
Dr. King that Im seeking, but
also the man he was at home.
He loved a joke and was a great
dancer. In his speeches he was
poetic, and that spilled over
into his romance. When he rst
met my mother, he said, Im
Napoleon at my Waterloo,
signaling his surrender to her.
SEX &
LOVE
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SEX & LOVE : LEGACY
knew his job would be a problem for me, and we eventually stopped dating.
I must also deal with the public perception of my life
versus who I really am. In my earlier years, a friend asked
me out, then stood me up three times. He finally revealed
he was scared of paparazzi. I dont even
have paparazzi around me. In law school,
I fell in love with Travis*, whom I met at
a park. We almost got engaged after
dating a few years. At the time I was
evolving spiritually and was finally at a
place to stop running from my legacy as
a member of the King family. One day
it hit me that the relationship wouldnt
last. People used to tease and call Travis
Mr. King and it bothered him. I realized
I would need someone who would be
ready for what a life with me would mean
and who had already found success on
his own. My grandfather always told me,
You dont marry individuals, you marry
families. And I know that anyone I am
serious about has to be able to handle
marrying into the King family.
My favorite picture of my parents is the
February photo in the 2006 annual King
Center calendar. She died on January 30,
2006, and when we ipped the calendar
on February 1, the picture was of her kissing my father. His eyes are dreamy, as if he
were welcoming her in heaven. My mother
picked the pictures as if she knew she
would see him soon.
I have seen Gods amazing ways of blessing us many times and am open to meeting
my future husband in a nontraditional way.
I even once went on a date with a man I had spotted in the
pages of ESSENCE. It has been quite a journey and I have
faith my own king will show up at the appointed time.
*Subjects name has been changed.
MANAGE YOUR LOVE INHERITANCE
sychologist and ESSENCE.com columnist

Sherry Blake, Ph.D., tells how to minimize
the impact your family has on your love life
IDENTIFY YOUR NORMAL
Parents and family are our rst teachers. We often
mimic what we see, and that includes relationships.
Consider what opinions and habits you have
picked up from family. Many people cant heal
from painful experiences because they dont know
they are wounded.
Ask yourself: What do I bring to a relationship
that will help and hurt it?
WRITE YOUR OWN STORY

We often idealize the relationships of our
ancestors. Its important to remember those were
diferent times. Dont base your hopes and desires
on someone
elses history.
Create your own
legacy and take
things slow.
Ask yourself:
What do I want
for my ending?
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Follow ESSENCE Relationships Editor

Charreah K. Jackson @CHARREAH.
FROM TOP: THE GRANGER COLLECTION, NYC; COURTESY OF EVERETT

COLLECTION; MARIE THOMAS; ARIEL SKELLEY/BLEND IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
Like many powerful women, I have been told several

times that I have an unapproachable demeanor that keeps
men at a distance. Im trying to work on that. But outside of
my own aura, men are sometimes intimidated by my legacy.
I would have loved to have had my dad sitting in the living
room drilling brothers Ive
dated through the years. And
he actually does in a way. Men
BERNICES
realize that theyre about to
FAVORITE
PHOTO
date the youngest child of Dr.
King and that they may one day
be compared with him. I appreciate that his memory scares away
Reunited
anyone wanting to play games.
after good
I come from a lineage of couples
news in
great-grandparents, grandparents and
court, in
parentswho never divorced. We now
1956
live in a world where the divorce rate
is so much higher than it was then,
and Im almost afraid to mess up the
lineage. Ive seen marriage as an
enduring commitment, and I take
it very seriously after watching my
mother be married to my father for life,
even after he passed.
My mother really wanted me to
nd someone before she died. She
pointed out that part of her childrens
challenge in dating is we are committed to a mission to make a diferThe Kings
ence in the world. It makes it harder
wed in 1953.
because everybody is not like that.
Martins
father
She emphasized to my siblings and
presided.
me that we should date, and ultimately marry, someone with similar
values. We were raised to embrace my
fathers nonviolent philosophy, and guns were prohibited. I
still wouldnt feel comfortable with a gun in my house. One
time I was going out with a police ofcer and in the back
of my mind I kept saying, I cant do this. He was nice but I
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* Use together to ght germs, fortify enamel and improve gum health. Results improve with continued use.
** Below the gumline compared to an ordinary at trim toothbrush.
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3G to 4G.
Change for the better.

Switch and you could save with GEICO.
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BEAT
THE
ENERGY
DRAIN
If your get-up-and-go
got up and left, you
may be sufering from
fatigue. Find out its
common causes and
how you can regain
the pep in your step
BY TRACY E. HOPKINS
ONOK Y/ERIC AU DR AS/G E T T Y IMAG ES
ure, you expect to feel a little

run-down when youve spent the
past few weeks getting to work
early and socializing with friends
into the night or youve been putting
in extra hours at the ofce nishing up
a project. But what about that wrungout, bone-tired feeling you cant seem
to shake, no matter how much couch
time youve clocked? If you just cant
seem to feel well-rested, you might be
sufering from fatigue, which is characterized as having a lack of energy
and motivation rather than just feeling
sleepy. According to the Mayo Clinic,
fatigue can be attributed to lifestyle
factors, underlying medical conditions or psychological problems. In
a world lled with endless to-do lists,
multimedia overload, eating on the run
and economic tensions, many individuals are experiencing fatigue on a daily
basis, says Eudene Harry, M.D, medical
director of the integrative and holistic
Oasis Wellness and Rejuvenation Center
in Orlando, Florida.
HEALTHY &
HAPPY
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HEALTHY & HAPPY : GET ENERGIZED
Fatigue that persists for six months and doesnt improve with rest is called
chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Studies nd that CFS primarily afects women,
and in addition to extreme exhaustion, symptoms include muscle and joint
pain, memory problems, headaches and insomnia. Chronic fatigue may be the
epidemic of the twenty-rst century, says Harry.
Whether youre plagued by the occasional bout of lethargy or your condition
is more severe, read on to help determine the root cause and nd out what you
can do to get back on track.
7 FATIGUE CULPRITS
You cant sleep

The National Sleep Foundation
identies insomnia as a major cause of
fatigue. Symptoms include difculty
falling or staying asleep and waking up
still feeling pooped. Daytime hours are
equally troublesome for insomniacs,
who may sufer from excessive sleepiness, problems with concentration and
memory, and irritability.
Fatigue Rx: Insomnia is usually treated
with medications, but Tamara Brown
Payne, Ph.D., a psychologist in Atlanta,
recognizes that sleeping pills are highly
addictive. She recommends taking
short naps during the day. Also, stay
away from foods, beverages and activities that can overstimulate. That means
avoiding cafeinated beverages within
two hours before bedtime and turning
of the TV and other electronic devices
an hour before you hit the hay.
Youre anemic
The condition occurs when
your blood doesnt contain enough
red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. When the
amount of oxygen transported to the
heart, brain, muscles and other organs
is insufcient, it decreases the energy
available to these organs. We perceive
this as fatigue. Anemia is especially
common among women who menstruate, particularly those who have
heavy periods. Its causes include iron
and vitamin deciencies, chronic illness, cancer and sickle-cell disease.
Fatigue Rx: Simple blood tests can conrm if youre anemic. If you test positive,
Danielle Huf, a registered dietitian at
Monteore Medical Center in New York
City, recommends consuming iron-rich
foods such as liver, chicken, beef, sh,
beans, lentils, spinach, oatmeal and fortied breakfast cereals.Iron from animal
sources is better absorbed by the body
than iron derived from plants, says Huf.
You can assist the absorption of iron
in plant-based foods by pairing them
with vitamin Crich foods, like tomatoes,

oranges, bell peppers and strawberries.
Huf also says to ditch cafeine when
consuming these foods because it can
inhibit iron absorption.
You drink too much

Alcohol slows down brain function,
decreasing energy, focus and the ability
to make decisions. Drinking liquor can
also contribute to sleep issues, which
further exacerbates fatigue.
Fatigue Rx: If youre trying to alleviate stress, learn to manage it in more
positive ways. Start each day with a
sense of gratitude or nd a thought
or a mental image that makes you feel
good, suggests Harry. Other stressbusters? Try laughing several times a
day; getting a massage; practicing
relaxation-inducing exercises like deep
breathing, meditation, yoga and tai chi;
and maintaining healthy friendships.
You have a vitamin D deciency

Studies show a connection
between deciency in vitamin D and
chronic fatigue. Huf notes the issue is
common especially among people of
color because the melanin in darker skin
reduces our ability to make vitamin D
from sunlight. This problem is worse in
winter, when there is less sun.
Fatigue Rx: Although many of the
best-known dietary sources of vitamin
D are dairy products, Huf realizes
this can be troublesome for AfricanAmericans, since many of us are
lactose intolerant. Luckily, there are
other food sources, including egg
yolks, canned tuna, salmon, mackerel
and cod liver oil, says Huf. For some,
supplements may be the best way to
normalize your vitamin D level. Talk
to your medical provider or dietitian
about what dose is best for you.
You have heart disease

Tiredness is a common early symptom of a heart attack in women, according to the American Heart Association.
If the heart isnt working optimally, then
the delivery of nutrients and oxygen in
the blood is compromised, and fatigue
can be the result, says Harry. Thats

why its so important to have any signs
of unrelenting weariness checked out
by your doctor.
Fatigue Rx: If your fatigue is caused by
heart disease, the number one killer of
women, Harry says the treatment will
depend on what is causing the heart to
malfunction. For example, you may be
placed on medications to lower your
blood pressure. Your physician may also
put you on a heart-healthy diet including
sh and olive oil, which contain healthy
fats, to help ght inammation; lots of
vegetables; high-ber foods, such as
garbanzo beans, to maintain a healthy
cholesterol level; and lean proteins to
keep the heart muscle strong.
You have undiagnosed or

uncontrolled diabetes
Studies show that fatigue is a symptom in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, says Harry. Fatigue can be the
result of having either too high or too
low blood sugar.
Fatigue Rx: If youre diabetic, managing your energy levels may be a matter
of keeping your blood glucose level
in check by staying committed to the
diabetes management plan your health
care team set for you. That means
being vigilant about what you eat. For
a steady energy boost, Huf advises that
you watch your consumption of simple
carbohydratessuch as sweets, soda
and white breadand stabilize blood
sugar levels with complex carbohydrates, which are found in whole grain
breads and cereals, brown rice, beans,
fruits and vegetables, nuts and popcorn.
When theyre consumed in moderation,
Harry says nuts help you lose weight,
lower blood pressure and even improve
cholesterol levels.
Youre taking medication

The cause of your lack of energy
could be in your medicine cabinet.
Medications used for anxiety,
hypertension drugs such as diuretics
and calcium channel blockers, and antiseizure medications may also have a
sedative efect, says Harry. But dont
forget about over-the-counter pills.
According to the Mayo Clinic, antihistamines, cough medicines and cold
remedies may also be behind fatigue.
Fatigue Rx: If your prescription drugs
are making you lethargic, talk to your
doctor, who may be able to change the
dosage or prescribe a diferent medication and/or alternative treatments.
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HEALTHY & HAPPY : SPIRITUALITY
HOW I GOT IT
TOGETHER AFTER
EVERYTHING
FELL APART
The death of a dream
can also signal a
new beginning. These
three women found
the strength to turn a
setback into a comeback
BY L aSHIEKA PURVIS HUNTER
ILLUSTRATION BY LULU
hallenges and transitions are not so much a part of life as they are the nature
of it. Most of us can cope with minor disappointmentsthe job interview
you just knew you nailed that doesnt result in an offer, or the man who
goes from being a catch to a jerk in the span of a few dates. But when a major blow
comes out of left field, it can turn your life upside down and rattle you to the core.
The question is, how do you handle it? Do you fall apart, give up and let the situation wreak havoc on your life? Or do you brush yourself off and find the courage
and faith to move on?
Some people go through hard times, become angry and bitter as a result and
stay stuck in that bad place, says Monica T. Campbell, Ph.D., a psychologist in Philadelphia who specializes in depression, anxiety and stress management. Others get
through hard times and look at it as an example of their strength, or they believe
that God has seen them through. Both can feel really good and afrming.
Meet three women who found themselves facing life-altering situations but were
able to summon the strength to start over and lead even more fullling lives: w
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Take the Nestea Plunge.
Cool. Crisp. Made from real tea leaves.

#nesteaplunge
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HEALTHY & HAPPY : SPIRITUALITY

CANCER WAS A GIFT FROM GOD TO
CHANGE MY LIFE
Ricki Fairley was a 55-year-old devoted
wife, busy mom of two and partner in
a marketing company in Alpharetta,
Georgia, when, in September 2011, she
was diagnosed with an aggressive form
of breast cancer. I was shocked, says
Fairley. I just said, Okay, God, what do
you have in store for me? She elected to
have a double mastectomy, followed by
chemotherapy and radiation.
While preparing for surgery, Fairley
began meeting with a nurse coach who
suggested that she needed to manage
her stress. I replied, Im not stressed, just
busy, Fairley says. But then the counselor surprised her. She asked how many
times a day I said or thought the word
a--hole, and told me that every time it
happened, I was stressed, she recalls.
That got her thinking about the toll her
dysfunctional 30-year marriage and
imbalanced relationship with her business partner were taking on her health.
With her body on the mend, Fairley set
about healing her spirit. Over the course
of a year, she led for divorce, moved to
Annapolis, Maryland, and cut ties with
her work associate. I started my own
company between my third and fourth
rounds of chemo, she says. That venture,
Dove Marketing, is responsible for the
acclaimed 2012 Obama for America radio
ad campaign.
With the support of family and friends,
Fairley began putting herself rst: Im
nally in control of my life. Well, actually,
God is in control. Today she is cancerfree, running a thriving enterprise, spending time with loved ones and enjoying her
new passionsspinning class and liturgical dance. I feel so blessed that I was able
to start a new life. You never know whats
going to come your way and you have
to view it as an opportunity, she says. I
dont like to use the word obstacle anymore, because I think that when God puts
something in front of you, its a gift that
youre supposed to learn and grow from.
I WAS FUNCTIONING BUT MY HEART
WAS JUST BROKEN
S. Michele Dorsey, 48, was making a sixgure salary as a nance executive at a
construction rm. In December 2009,
amid the housing market crash, her com116 ESSENCE .COM AUGUST 2014
You never know whats

going to come your way and you
have to view it as an opportunity.
I dont use the word obstacle,
because when God puts something in front of you, its a gift
youre supposed to learn and
grow from. RICKI FAIRLEY
pany went bust. Shortly after, her brother
died, and two weeks later, her mother
sufered a fatal heart attack. Dorsey was
shattered. I was a functioning depressive, she recalls. I could turn it of when
I was around people, but at home I was
battling major depression. She got to
the point where she couldnt sleep and
would have anxiety attacks throughout
the night. Still grieving, Dorsey realized
that she had to nd a job, but she lacked
the energy to look. I lost my focus and my
heart wasnt in it, she says. Eventually, her
doctor put her on antianxiety medication.
Dorseys downward spiral ended in
spring 2010, when a friend suggested
she start a cosmetics company since she
had always been good at doing makeup.
Initially Dorsey scofed at the idea. How
could she start a business when she
barely had enough money? But something ignited inside her. I started doing
research and I thought, Maybe I can do
this, she recalls. Not long after, she saw a
TV commercial on becoming an aesthetician, a licensed professional trained in
maintaining and improving healthy skin. I
realized it would help me become a credible beauty professional, she says. That
fall she enrolled in aesthetician school and
continued to research and test products.
Fast-forward to 2014: Dorsey now has
her own cosmetics company (michelemichele.com) that sells nail polishes and
lip glosses. Her goal is to open her own
store and to sell her products in Macys.
With the dark days behind her, she speaks
of her resilience. My mother always told
me its okay to be down but its not okay
to stay down, Dorsey says. Im rooted in
Christ and I knew I wasnt going to stop.
seven years King thought she was in a

rock-solid, committed relationship. They
had even talked about marriage.
Little did the Philadelphia native know
that her boyfriend had other ideas about
their future. When Mark nally ended the
couples ties, King was crushed. I just
knew marriage wasnt in the cards for me,
she says. I completely lost faith in love. I
was done.
For seven years after the breakup, King
remained single, going on a few dates
here and there but not letting anyone get
too close. I wasnt bitter but I was closed
and cynical, she recalls. I have an excellent connection with my father, brothers
whom I adore and plenty of male friends,
but I just didnt trust romance. Then in
2010 King reconnected with Dallas, an
old friend from Hampton University, on
Facebook. They had dated briey freshman year, but had lost touch after she
transferred to another school.
At rst King found it hard to shake the
reservations and distrust she carried from
the experience with her previous partner. But as she and Dallas talked about
their lives, she found herself charmed
by his open, honest nature and gallant
approach. Hes perfected that southern gentleman thing, she says. As their
friendship grew, Kings defenses came
down. When he said he wanted to be
a part of my life again, I was surprised
to nd that my heart was ready to jump
into this thing, she adds. In July 2013,
King and Dallas walked down the aisle.
True love seldom comes in the package you imagined it, she says. Timing
is everything. Sometimes its not right at
that moment. But later on, its perfect.
I GAVE UP ON LOVE
Taryn King, 37, started dating Mark* in
1998 and fell in love hard. For the next
LaShieka Purvis Hunter is a freelance writer

living in Long Island, New York.
*Subjects name has been changed.
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FOOD ST YLIST, SUSAN OT TAVIANO/HALLE Y RESOU RCES . PROP ST YLIST, LIN DA KEIL /HALLE Y RESOU RCES .
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SUMMER
ENTERTAINING
SIMPLIFIED
THROW A SEMI-SELF-SERVE SOIREE:

SUPPLY AN ARRAY OF TASTY SAUCES, DIPS
AND TOPPINGS, AND LET YOUR GUESTS
TAP INTO THEIR CULINARY CREATIVITY
BY SHARON BOONE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATE SEARS
hen youre cooking for a crowd, go beyond sliders

and hot dogs, suggests chef Kyle Bailey of Washington, D.C.s Neighborhood Restaurant Group: Serve skewers
of grilled chicken, beef and shrimp along with homemade
dips so guests will be happy and youll be free to have fun.
LIFE
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LIFE : OUTDOOR PARTY
THIS MONTHS POUR
COINTREAU
RICKEY BAR
Cocktail and spirits expert Kyle Ford
says your friends will toast you all night
when you let them play mixologist at
your foolproof drinks center. Along with
the arrangement shown below, lay out
a 2-ounce measuring cup or jigger, a
wooden spoon or muddler, and the recipe
for a Basic Rickey. Instruct guests to put a
few of their fave berries and an herb sprig
in a glass, and crush them gently with the
spoon or muddler. Add ice, 2 ounces of
Cointreau and 1 ounce of lime juice, and
top with seltzer. Stir lightly and enjoy.
BASIC RICKEY
2 ounces Cointreau
1 ounce fresh lime juice
34 ounces seltzer w
The setup: Seltzer water

or club soda, plenty of
ice, a variety of berries,
fresh herbs such as
mint and rosemary, and
fresh lime juice.
DIP DIP HOORAY!

Buy quality meat. It
makes a big diference,
says Bailey. You wont
need the expensive cuts,
but fresh, local meat is
the way to go.
Soak wooden
skewers in water for
a few hours before
cooking so they wont
burn on the grill.
To ensure meat is
tender and has maximum smoky avor, cut
it into bite-size chunks
and cook over even,
low heat.
These delicious
sauces are a snap to
make. Just combine

the choicest ingredients
you can nd in a bowl
and stir. Serve the dips
in cute, unique vessels
to make your table
arrangement festive.
HONEY MUSTARD
RANCH
DC MUMBO
4 cup mayo
2 cup buttermilk
1
2 teaspoon white
pepper
2 tablespoons chopped
parsley
1 tablespoon grated
Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon onion
powder
1 tablespoon garlic
powder
Dash Tabasco
3
1
4 cup Dijon mustard

2 cup mayonnaise
5 tablespoons honey
1
8 teaspoon cayenne
1
8 teaspoon garlic
powder
1
8 teaspoon black
pepper
3
1
1
1
1
3
3
cup ketchup
cup sugar
tablespoon paprika
tablespoons water
tablespoons Franks
RedHot sauce
4 tablespoons distilled
white vinegar
Dash Tabasco
SAMBAL MAYO
Equal parts sambal

and mayonnaise
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LIFE : OUTDOOR PARTY
BEST BUYS
Make your next summer shindig

an affair to remember with the
help of these stylish standouts
GRILL
BABY
This Char-Broil
tabletop grill
($18, Target)
is the perfect
size for picnics,
camping trips
and tailgating
events. Bonus: It
comes in brilliant
blue (left) and
vibrant pink.
CHILL
TEAS
Everyone will
savor these
refreshing, allnatural Argo
Tea iced drinks
(about $35 for a
case of 12, available at Walmart
and argoteastore
.com). Flavors
include Carolina
Honey, Mojitea
and Hibiscus
Tea Sangria,
and one serving
clocks in at 70
calories or less.
SUNDAE
FUNDAY
This make-your-own ice cream
sundae bar is a clever and fun
way to round out the meal, says
Baileys wife, pastry chef Tifany
MacIsaac. Provide at least two
but up to four diferent ice cream
avors, says MacIsaac. Start with
crowd-pleasing classics such
as vanilla and chocolate. Then
include one or two seasonal or
specialty avorslike sweet corn,
basil, ginger or peanut butter
that you nd at a specialty ice
cream shop, she says.
Next put together a toppings
station that includes sauces,
crumbled cookies, granola,
crushed nuts for texture, and
TABLET EXTRAS Get recipes
for more tasty toppings.
BOSS
SAUCES
in-season fresh fruits. You can

go all out by making your own
syrups and fresh whipped cream,
MacIsaac suggests.
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We love Sir
Kensingtons
all-natural Spicy
Brown Mustard,
Classic Ketchup
and Sriracha
Mayonnaise ($5
$6 each, available
at Whole Foods
and sirkensing
tons.com). Jojos
Sriracha Zinfandel Chili Sauce
($14, shop.ravens
woodwinery
.com) is infused
with Ravenswood
Zinfandel.
ADVERTISEMENT
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Wherever you go,

ESSENCE goes with you.
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Available
on
iPhone!
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begin enjoying your FREE digital issue today!
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Corporation in the United States and other countries. ESSENCE is a trademark of ESSENCE Communications Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
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LIFE : PARENTING
No Plans?
No Problem
FIVE LAST-MINUTE, LOW-COST WAYS

TO KEEP KIDS BUSY
BY YLONDA GAULT CAVINESS
ome moms have had their

childrens summer camps and
activities booked and paid for
since March. Then there are the rest
of us, who manage to cobble together
a few activities for the beginning of
summer but by August have all but
run out of ideas for keeping the kids
occupied. Choosing, planningnot to
mention paying forlife enhancement
based programs can be daunting, but
we all know what the old folks say
about an idle mind. Whats more, just
chilling during the break leaves children
playing catch-up once school starts.
One of the greatest challenges in our
community is getting our kids involved
in enrichment activities, says Damon
A. Williams, Ph.D., senior vice-president
of program, training and youth development at the Boys & Girls Clubs of
America. That expression Use it or lose
it is not just an empty saying.
Fortunately, not all great activities
require long lead times and hefty price
tags. Consider these options:
GET KIDS IN THE SPIRIT. Vacation Bible
School programs select child-friendly
themes, such as the environment, space
or superheroes, and they use these
themes to relate the Gospel and its
teachings. Church membership and
religious afliation are rarely prerequisites for participation. In a typical day
kids are engaged in games and arts and
crafts, role-playing and team building.
Taking up a sport
helps your child
stay physically and
mentally active.
youngster can join a group that ofers

opportunities to volunteer, such as the
Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts or
4-H club. Pet lovers can spend time
helping out at an animal shelter. Artistic
types can make cards and pictures for
Not all great activities require

long lead times and hefy price tags.
pleasurable activities, like drawing their
favorite scenes. Theyll barely know
theyre learning.
PLAY BALL. No matter your childs skill
level, she will score high through sports.
In addition to character-building benets
such as learning respect for others and
how to collaborate, physical exercise can
help feed your childs brain. A study on
cognitive function cites a link between
physical activity and increased brain volume in parts of the brain where executive thinking takes place. To nd low-cost
sports programs near you, check your
local parks and recreation bureau. You
can also visit active.com. If there is a
major league baseball or basketball team
in your area, visit the teams Web site for
information on moderately priced summer programs.
VOLUNTEER. Turn your childs passion
into a project for helping others. Your
our servicemen and women. Log on to

anysoldier.com for more details.
Volunteermatch.org is home to a huge
database that will connect you to local
volunteer possibilities. And dont forget to
look out for ways to ofer services in your
own backyard. Is there an elderly person
on the block your child might visit or run
errands for? How about younger children
in the neighborhood? Their mom may be
in need of a mothers helper.
DISCOVER THE GREAT OUTDOORS.
With all the gadgets at their disposal,
it may take some efort to get kids to
venture outside. But its worth it. Let them
while away a few hours in the backyard
or a park. Communing with nature is
soothing and restorative, and it also spurs
creativity. There are surprising things kids
can touch, hear and smell outside, says
John Duntley, senior camping specialist at
YMCA of the USA. Its a learning environment you cant get anywhere else.
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MARK SCOT T/G E T T Y IMAG ES
BEEF UP SKILLS. Lauren Hammonds

Brown, a St. Louis mother of two,
encourages her kids to think of summers the way athletes approach the ofseasonas a time to work on boosting
weak areas. Fractions, geometry
whatever they struggled with during the
year, I try to reinforce, she

says. You can often arrange
semiprivate sessions with
a college or high school
honors student for a small
hourly fee. Mathnasium, an
international chain of math
learning centers, ofers
personalized math instruction and fun,
math-based improvement sessions.
Visit mathnasium.com for a site near
you. Also, think about starting a summer book club with your kids friends.
Include time to socialize and incorporate
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TO A DV E R T I S E CO N TAC T 1 . 8 0 0 . 9 3 8 . 4 6 6 0
SHOWCASE
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WHERE TO BUY
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78
COVER
On First Lady Michelle Obama: Dress*,

Azede Jean-Pierre, azedejean-pierre
.com. Brooch, Michael Kors, $395,
michaelkors.com. Earrings and ring,
subjects own.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 7: Bustier and skirt, Givenchy,

$2,390 and $1,175, Saks Fifth Avenue,
NYC, 212-753-4000. Bangle, Anndra
Neen, $545, anndraneen.com. Ring,
Alexis Bittar, $175, alexisbittar.com.
Boots, Salvatore Ferragamo, $2,250,
866-337-7242.
Page 8: Dress*, Azede Jean-Pierre,
azedejean-pierre.com. Brooch,
Michael Kors, $395, michaelkors
.com. Earrings and ring, subjects
own.
TRUE BLUES
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NICHOL AS ROUTZEN
Page 26: Jacket and shirt, Levis, $98

and $68, levi.com. Turtleneck, American Apparel, $32, americanapparel.net.
Page 28: Crop sweater, American
Apparel, $42, americanapparel
.net. Skirt, Alberta Ferretti, $1,695,
Alberta Ferretti boutique, Los Angeles,
310-652-9000. Necklace, Robert Lee
Morris, $995, robertleemorris.com.

Rings*, Ora, Bergdorf Goodman,
NYC, 212-753-7300.
Page 29: Jumpsuit, Diesel, $348,
shop.diesel.com. Earrings*, Ora,
Bergdorf Goodman, NYC, 212-7537300. Skeleton cuf, Robert Lee
Morris, $595, robertleemorris.com.
Pumps, Bally, $550, Bally, NYC,
212-751-9082. Dog Collar, Ware of
the Dog, $65, Barneys New York,
NYC, 212-826-8900.
Page 30: Turtleneck, American
Apparel, $32, americanapparel.net.
Pants*, Hilger Collection, similar
styles available, Tommy Hilger, NYC,
212-223-1824. Choker, Anndra Neen,
$480, valerydemure.com/shop.
Page 31: Jacket and shorts, G-Star, $360
and $180, g-star.com. Cami, Victorias
Secret Catalogue, $25, victoriassecret
.com. Cuf, Jill Golden, $276, jillgolden
.com. Sandals, Alejandro Ingelmo,
$2,300, alejandroingelmo.com. Dog
collar and leash, Mungo & Maud,
$95, Barneys New York, NYC,
212-826-8900.
Page 32: Jacket and pants, Ashish,
$796 each, vles.com. Necklace,
Anndra Neen, $550, anndraneen.com.
WorldMags.net
Cluster ring, Fallon, $150, fallon

jewelry.com. Pyramid ring*,
Ora, Bergdorf Goodman, NYC,
212-753-7300. Pumps*, Daniele
Michetti, michettidaniele.com for
retail locations.
lets, Vita Fede, $465 and $475,
ALL CLEAR
kamiart.com. On left hand:
Page 35: Bra and briefs, Yummie

by Heather Thomson, $38 and $18,
yummielife.com.
COLOR THEORY
Page 44: Dress, Babe New York,

$345, babenewyork.com.
Page 46: Clockwise from top right:
Top, Line & Dot, $88, thelineanddot .com. Perforated top, LaPina,
$350, lapinalabel.com. Jersey
dress, LaPina, $395, lapinalabel.
com.
DAMAGE CONTROL
maRLE Y k aTE
Page 48: Dress, Missguided, $45,

missguidedus.com.
HER SONG
vitafede .com. Link bracelet and
leather cufs, Pluma, $215 and $150

each, pluma-italia.com. Round
ring*, Arik Kastan, arikkastan.com.
Druzy ring, Kami Lerner, $198,
Rosebud ring*, Roseark, roseark.
com. Flower band and stacking band, Arik Kastan, $1,311 and
$1,426, arikkastan.com. Crop top,
skirt and pumps, stylists own.
BUILDING A
BRIGHT FUTURE
Pages 7883: Dress*, Azede
Jean-Pierre, azedejean-pierre
.com. Brooch, Michael Kors,
$395, michaelkors.com. Earrings
and ring, subjects own. Blue vases,
Mitchell Gold + Bob Wiliams,
$225 and $325, Washington, D.C.,
202-332-3433. Floral vase, gold
vase and decorative boxes*,
Page 50: Earrings*, Nixin, roseark

.com. On right hand: Spike brace-
Aerin, $425$750, aerin.com.

*price upon request
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HOROSCOPE
theres cantu
for natural hair
Leo
July 23 to August 22
OVERVIEW A born leader and childrens advocate, youre the showman of the
zodiac. You like being center stage and are attracted to a career as an actor, a
teacher or a lawyer. Your contradictory nature has you roaring one minute and
purring the next. When a suitor catches your eye, youre totally there. But for
you, the chase is more intriguing than the capture. Generally, youre compatible with Aries, Libra, Sagittarius and Gemini. Your opposite, Aquarius,
continues to fascinate, but past the mind-blowing hookup, the long-term
connection remains elusive. THE YEAR AHEAD Committing to a healthier
lifestyle should be a priority, so taking me time is a must. THIS MONTH
LOVE: If long-standing issues cant be resolved, dont settle. Couples, listen
with your hearts. WORK: Your leadership skills may be called into question as ofce politics and favoritism collide. MONEY: When it comes to your
dough, slowing your roll is benecial. INSPIRATION: Your unpublicized good
deeds are greater in scope than those shouted from the rooftops.
Virgo
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August 23 to September 22
LOVE: Spontaneous combustion in
the lust cycle may be accidental or
contrived. WORK: Your eye for detail is
unmatched, but teamwork is essential.
MONEY: Finances and family are a
volatile mix. Seek professional advice
before the hole in your bank account
deepens. INSPIRATION: The unlikely
pairing of crisis and opportunity creates an avenue for success.
September 23 to October 22
LOVE: A hopeless romantic, you crave
an exciting courtship. WORK: Your
charm in the workplace is efective
CANTUBEAUTY
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WorldMags.net
Scorpio
October 23 to November 21
LOVE: Your magnetism attracts who
you want, but dont confuse the sexy
one with your soul mate. WORK: If
colleagues dont see the big picture,
its the higher-ups job, not yours.
MONEY: Even a pay increase may
not match your present lifestyle.
INSPIRATION: The miracle of you is
draped in your protection, vision and
support of those who matter.
Y VE T TE CROCKER
Libra
with bosses. Note the haters. MONEY:

Available funds can be the determining
factor in any changes, including relocation. INSPIRATION: Bask in the today
and focus on tomorrow, tomorrow.
WorldMags.net
Sagitarius
november 22 to December 21
Love: Recapturing a lost amour is
nothing but a fantasy. Work: Your
employment options will align with
your passion. Money: Dont celebrate
a possible promotion by overspending. InspIratIon: Your distance
from the tried-and-true diminishes the
expectation of others.
Capricorn
December 22 to January 19
Love: If a potential beau is teachable,
the relationship can thrive. Work:
Watch how you approach those in
authority. Insubordination is a no-no.
Money: Sound judgment is vital for
starting a venture. InspIratIon:
Walls, real or imagined, keep you
isolated and imprisoned.
Aquarius
January 20 to February 18
Love: Concentrate on your needs
before those of your loved ones.
Work: Being conscientious can be
misconstrued as arrogance or aloofness. Money: Impulsive shopping
only lls the void temporarily.
InspIratIon: Choose optimism and
hope over pessimism and despair.
Pisces
February 19 to March 20
Love: Follow your instincts when it
comes to staying or going. Work:
Your mistrust of coworkers may be
valid. Money: Medical bills or school
loans should not break the bank if
there is a payment plan. Couples,
examine joint assets. InspIratIon:
Listen beyond the spoken words and
understand your power within.
Aries
March 21 to April 19
Love: Your single-minded pursuit of
romance keeps you from smelling the
roses. Couples, deal with kids concerns. Work: Your habit of holding
court could garner praise or annoy
supervisors. Money: Hire a pro to
monitor the budget and investments.
InspIratIon: Embracing the stillness renders thoughtful solutions.
Taurus
April 20 to May 20
Love: Arguments must be settled
calmly. Couples, cherish the nontraditional. Work: Networking is crucial.
Mingle, please. Money: With any
nancial transaction, read the ne print.
InspIratIon: A new spin on an old
tale can lend freshness and viability.
Gemini
May 21 to June 20
Love: If a long-term commitment
has you vacillating, go with your gut.
Work: Managers are paying attention to your skills as a communicator,
but make sure your actions match.
Money: Be patient and the rewards
will be worth the wait. InspIratIon:
Planting your seeds of experience
now will yield a bountiful harvest later.
Cancer
June 21 to July 22
Love: Friends with benets takes on
a new meaning. Couples, talk it out.
Work: Your keen business sense can
be parlayed into future solo projects.
Money: Partnership squabbles require
a neutral mediator. InspIratIon:
When others are hurting, your presence can do wonders.
Horoscope by Thelma Balfour, author of Black Love Signs and Black

Sun Signs (Touchstone).
Copyright 2014 by Essence Communications, Inc. (ISSN-0014-0880) (GST 126301159) Canada Post Publications Mail
Agreement No. 40110178. ESSENCE is published monthly by Essence Communications Inc., 135 W. 50th St., New York
NY 10020. Return undeliverable Canada address to Postal Stn A, P.O. Box 4015, Toronto ONT M5W 2T2. Printed in the
USA. All rights reserved. Cover and contents may not be reproduced in part or in whole without prior written permission.
Magazine available on microlm and CD-ROM from ProQuest Information and Learning, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor MI
48106. ESSENCE is the registered trademark of Essence Communications Inc. Periodicals postage paid at New York NY
and additional mailing ofces. U.S. subscriptions: $22 for one year. Allow six weeks for change of address. The publisher is
not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Articles in ESSENCE are in Index to Periodical Articles by and
About Blacks (G.K. Hall & Co.). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ESSENCE, P.O. Box 62120, Tampa FL 33662-2120.
Along with new address, please send old address as printed on last label. SUBSCRIBERS: Occasionally we provide our customer list to companies whose products might interest you. If you do not wish to receive these mailings, send your request
and a copy of your mailing label to us at ESSENCE *Mailing Preferences,* P.O. Box 62120, Tampa FL 33662-2120. If the
Post Ofce alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected
address within two years. Customer service and subscriptions: For 24/7 assistance, please visit our Web site: EssEncE
.com/customerservice. You can also phone 800-274-9398 or write to EssEncE, P.O. Box 62120, Tampa FL 33662-2120.
AUGUST 2014 essence .com 133

WorldMags.net
PERSPECTIVE
WorldMags.net
THE TRUE MEASURE

OF SUCCESS
COLUMNIST MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY ADDRESSES A GRADUATING

CLASS ON WHAT MATTERS MOST IN LIFE
have been a college professor for 15 years and have

taught hundreds of students from schools as varied
as North Carolina Central and
Princeton. Ive cheered on dozens
of graduates, taken great pride in
my doctoral advisees and wept
with joy when copies of my former students rst published books
arrived in the mail. Still, nothing has
ever given me the sense of satisfaction I felt when I delivered the commencement address for my niece,
Christina Smith, and her classmates
at Eckerd College this past May.
I carry a picture of Chris graduating from preschool in my wallet.
She was 5 and all decked out in a
cap and gown. I remember teasing her, Chrissy, youre wearing a
cap and gown; can you even read
yet? Her swift response: Im
cute; I dont have to read! After
that inauspicious assessment of
the value of education, it was thrilling and humbling to be there the
day she earned a college degree.
I used my speech as an opportunity
to tell the students about a book given to
me by my college chaplaina paperback
copy of Frederick Buechners The Magnicent Defeat. My favorite essay from
the volume is Message in the Stars. In
it, Buechner conducts a thought experiment: What if God decided to prove dramatically, irrefutably and publicly that He
exists by writing across the night sky?
Buechner imagines the Heavenly Author
arranging the stars to read, GOD IS. He
also imagines the hope, terror, regret,
joy and utter astonishment such a message would bring. Buechner fantasizes
that God would undoubtedly rewrite the
message in all the diferent languages of
the world so that on any given night you
might go outside, look up and see it in
pencils and send them of to

school. There they will encounter
a world that ignores their uniqueness and peculiarity and measures
their success with narrow markers. As the school year begins, we
need to remind our childrenand
ourselvesthat the declaration of
success is less important than the
meaning of success. We have to
encourage young people to ask,
So what? What diference does
that make? and more specically,
What diference am I making in
my family, community and world?
Public policy forces schools to
compete by declaring, Our test
scores are high. Parents must
pose the question, Are your students creative and happy and
learning to be good citizens?
Admissions policy forces students
to compete by asserting, My
GPA is high! Parents need to ask,
Have you learned something new,
pursued a passion, helped someone else?
We encourage young people
to set goals and work hard to achieve
them. Make the honor roll. Get a scholarship. Finish college. Then we slap bumper
stickers on our cars like declarations in
the stars: My kid is an honor student! It
is very easy to get caught up in accomplishments of all kinds, to be seduced by
the outward trappings of success: beauty,
wealth, fame. But then we must stop and
ask, If I am beautiful, so what? What difference does that make? If I am rich, so
what? What diference does that make?
I told the class of 2014 that these are
the most important questions students
can ask themselves. Christinas educational accomplishment is written in the
stars. But all of us will have to wait to nd
out what diference she will make. And
that, I expect, will be the best part of all.
Harris-Perrys
niece Christina
at preschool
graduation
Te declaration of
success is less important
than the meaning of it.
WorldMags.net
COU RTESY OF SU B J ECT
French or Mandarin or Arabic. GOD IS.

He invites us to envision the relief that
would come with the certainty that God
exists. Then he writes the following:
The way I would have it end might be
this. I would have a child look up at the sky
some night, just a plain, garden-variety
child with perhaps a wad of bubble gum
in his cheekand then I would have the
child turn to his father, or maybe, with the
crazy courage of childhood, I would have
him turn to God himself, and the words I
would have him speak would be words
to make the angels gasp. So what if God
exists? he would say. What diference
does that make?
In the coming weeks, we will supply
our sons and daughters with new backpacks, fresh lunch boxes and sharpened
INTRODUCING
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