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https://www.blackenterprise.com/proudly-babycare-garbrielle-union-dwyane-wade/
The Black community is not a monolith, our preferences and priorities vary. However, there are two things many Black people have common: we don’t play when it comes to our children—nor our hair. Across economic, education or social status, Black folks take great care attending to both.
Enter Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade.
In 2022, Union and Wade created PROUDLY baby care which launched exclusively in Target stores. The dynamic duo and proud parents of their youngest daughter Kaavia James, recognized the lack of products made specifically for their brown skin girl. Being business savvy and seeing a need created an opportunity to not only cater to their own child but other young Black children who are in need of quality skin and hair care products at affordable prices. Proudly hair care offers multiple products to suit all baby’s needs, including the grape seed oil, rosemary, and marshmallow root Softening Shampoo, $12.99 and a jojoba oil and marshmallow root Defining Detangler, $12.99.
Union and Wade shared their inspiration and future of PROUDLY Baby Care with BLACK ENTERPRISE, and here’s what we learned:
PROUDLY Babycare was created with your daughter Kaavia in mind. What about your experience as her parents informed your decision to create this line?
Gabrielle Union: Having Kaavia absolutely was definitely the inspiration for this line. For her, wash day and doing her hair is such an important activity in our home and she loves to get her hair done. Our whole village participates and it’s a really spe special activity. And as Kaavia has gotten older, she’s gotten more independent and she wants to use what mommy and daddy use in the shower, but we know that those products may not always be appropriate for her age. So what we wanted to create was something that she could use on her own that was safe enough for her. We feel good knowing the products are hypoallergenic, tear free, pediatrician and dermatologist approved and use clean ingredients that are safe for her. All the products are Kaavia tested and approved so we appreciate her help in building this line!
How do you see this line changing the landscape in baby care?
Right now, we see that the majority of the hair products in the baby aisle are 2-in-1s or even 3-in-1s which just don’t work for babies and children with tighter textured hair. This line was developed centering the needs of the tightest coils and curls and our hope is that our approach will make parents of color feel like their needs are being met in the aisle and will inspire other Baby brands to prioritize the needs of Black and Brown children.
The focus right now is babies. Is there any thought of getting into other specialized markets?
Dwyane Wade: We are excited about the innovation and opportunities within the baby space because there really isn’t another Brand doing what we are doing in this aisle, so for now we are super focused on this space.
Though you all are the minds and laborers behind this venture Kaavia seems to be the boss! How important is it to educate her about business at this age? (Of course, in a kid friendly way)
Wade: Kaav definitely gives boss vibes and we love that about her. We include Kaavia in our work ventures where we can and PROUDLY is special because it is a Brand that was inspired by her, so it has been fun to include her in testing and trying the products and allowing her to give us her feedback. It was fun for her to see her face on the PROUDLY store endcaps last year and she is realizing that she’s a special part of the Brand. Outside of that, Kaavia is busy with her own kid adventures with her friends like camp, dance class and summer swimming and we think that’s how it should be.
You both are passionate about this line and believe in its value. Do you think your target market will respond with the same passion?
Union: We think so! Hair care has been the number one most asked about category from our consumers since we launched the Brand. So we know that our community needs and wants this line and we are excited to bring this line of products to them. Parents are looking for something that is both safe but really works on tighter textures, and we think we succeeded with this line.
RELATED CONTENT: Gabrielle Union And Dwyane Wade Announce EWG VERIFIED Mark For PROUDLY Baby Care Brand
On the surface, it doesn’t seem like DC Comics’ Green Lantern mythology and the Star Wars saga have a ton in common, aside from both being space opera adventures. But upon closer inspection, both of these franchises have had incredible parallels, going back to their very beginnings. Was George Lucas influenced by Green Lantern comics when creating the Jedi, or coming up with Anakin Skywalker’s arc? Honestly, we’d say probably not. But nevertheless, the similarities are striking, And it’s been an ongoing thing for decades.
The Green Lantern Corps and the Jedi Order
In DC Comics lore, the Green Lantern Corps has been a peacekeeping force for literally hundreds of thousands of years. With their emerald power rings, they can channel energy from the Emotional Spectrum because of their innate willpower to create constructs and energy weapons. They draw their power from an energy that has existed since the dawn of creation. Also, they are usually paired with another Lantern, in a senior officer and rookie partnership. Every time they charge their rings, they take a solemn vow to the Corps, in the form of a spoken oath.
In Star Wars, the Jedi Order has also existed for thousands of generations, with a select few thousand acting as guardians of the peace for trillions of beings. Only a very select handful of sentient beings who can wield the Force had have allowance to train as Jedi. Similarly, potential Green Lanterns must be innately special for the ring to choose them. And not every sentient being can wield a ring, just as not every sentient being has an aptitude for the Force. Like the Lanterns, after initial training, they pair Jedi in a master/apprentice relationship. And like the Green Lanterns, they must also take a vow to the order. Of course, one of their own once decimated both the Lanterns and the Jedi Order, only for them to rebuild again.
Oa and Coruscant, the Bright Centers of the Galaxy
The home world of the Green Lantern Corps is the ancient planet Oa, the center of the known universe. There, the immortal Guardians of the Universe preside over their intergalactic representatives and issue orders to their Green Lanterns. Oa, in more recent comics, has also become the home of the United Planets, an intergalactic governing body. At the center of the Star Wars galaxy is Coruscant, which is home to the Jedi Temple and has been for centuries. The same Temple where the Jedi Council presides over its thousands of Jedi Knights, in a similar manner to Oa’s Guardians. Like Oa, Coruscant is also the seat of galactic government, first with the Republic, and later, the Empire.
The Fall of Hal Jordan, the Fall of Anakin Skywalker
The Star Wars saga centered on the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker. But we didn’t see his actual transition into Darth Vader until the prequels. But the Green Lantern comics gave their premiere ring wielder, Hal Jordan, almost the same arc as Anakin would have, over a decade earlier. The Guardians of the Universe considered Hal Jordan to be the greatest Green Lantern of all time, a gifted pilot even before he received the power ring. Eventually, though, things went very sour.
When an alien despot destroyed his hometown of Coast City, killing millions, Hal suffered an unbearable loss. And he wanted more power from the Green Lantern central battery to undo it all. When the Guardians denied him, telling him he must accept loss, he went on a rampage and killed almost the entire Green Lantern Corps. He siphoned all the power from the main battery on Oa, emerging as the villain Parallax. After a few years as a bad guy, he ultimately redeemed himself, and died saving the Earth during the Final Night event, reigniting a dying sun.
Sound familiar? Anakin Skywalker was already a great pilot when he became Jedi, and as the Chosen One, many considered him the most powerful Jedi ever. When he was asked to let go of loss by wiser Jedi, he decided he couldn’t, and needed more power to save his wife from death. He kills all the Jedi in their temple, and becomes Darth Vader. As we know, in his final act in Return of the Jedi, he ultimately redeemed himself. Of course, Hal Jordan’s dark side turn was later retconned as a possession. And Hal got to come back to life with a clean slate. But for over a decade, Hal Jordan was DC’s Anakin Skywalker analogue.
The “Last” Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, and the “Last” Jedi, Luke Skywalker
When the Jedi Order fell, eventually one farm boy named Luke Skywalker picked up a lightsaber and embarked on a journey that would make him the last Jedi. But Luke Skywalker’s world-famous story was somewhat reflected in the Green Lantern comics of the early ‘90s, when a new, younger Lantern named Kyle Rayner became to the Green Lantern Corps what Luke Skywalker was to the Jedi Order — the last of his kind. Or, depending on your point of view, the first of a new kind of Jedi.
When Hal Jordan broke bad and destroyed the Corps, only one ring remained. The last Guardian went to Earth and gave the final power ring to a young slacker named Kyle Rayner. He became the “Torchbearer” for the whole Lantern Corps, the only Lantern left, much like how for years Luke was the last Jedi. Kyle even spent some time under the mentorship of former Lantern John Stewart, in an Obi-Wan/Luke-style relationship. He eventually reignited the Green Lantern Corps again after a decade. And he had an epic battle with Hal Jordan, who became his nemesis, much as Luke did with Vader. And thanks to some time-traveling adventures, Hal became like a father figure to Kyle, completing the Luke/Vader parallels.
Multi-Colored Power Rings, Multi-Colored Lightsabers
In the Green Lantern mythology, each color ring represents a different aspect of the Emotional Spectrum. Green is willpower/courage, while blue is hope, purple is love, and indigo is compassion. All of these same colors represent the lightsaber hues of members of the benevolent Jedi Order. And these are all emotions and attributes a Jedi must display. Of course, in the DC Universe, the different colored rings each have a separate corps of their own. And there is only one Jedi Order in Star Wars. But their colors match the “good guy” rings in the pages of DC Comics.
Meanwhile, the emotion of rage fuels the Red Lantern rings. In Star Wars, only a Sith wields crimson blades. But the emotion of rage powers both the Red Lanterns and the Sith. In the Green Lantern comics, greed fuels the orange power rings. In Star Wars: Ahsoka, we see our first orange lightsabers, held by mercenaries who were former Jedi. As mercenaries, they’re in it for the money, so we’d say orange sabers represent greed as well. In both DC and Star Wars, white and black power rings/lightsabers are coveted and rare, worn by few (or one). The only colored lightsaber that’s doesn’t really line up with a corresponding power ring is yellow. In Green Lantern comics, yellow represents fear. In Star Wars, Jedi Temple guards hold yellow sabers, as does Rey eventually.
Will we see more Green Lantern and Star Wars parallels in the future? If the past several decades have been any indication, we think the answer is a definite yes. In the comics, we’ve seen Green Lantern and Star Trek crossover. Here’s hoping we see some power rings ignite next to some lightsabers. How fun would that be?
The post How STAR WARS Parallels DC Comics’ GREEN LANTERN Mythology appeared first on Nerdist.
It has been what Beyoncé would call a ‘Summer Renaissance’ for Black Media! With The Little Mermaid, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, They Cloned Tyrone, and more, we are seeing what I believe to be a Renaissance of Black art on the big screen. As usual, that Renaissance is being misinterpreted by an audience that the art was not created for. *cough* white people *cough*. This is to be expected. So since they feel so comfortable sharing their opinions, I thought I’d share mine. Black recasts are, to put it simply, outdoing their original white counterparts. They do this easily because they understand the assignment in a way their white counterparts never could. Additionally, contrary to white opinion, these recasts are powerful and are creating a space for original Black sci-fi/fantasy to thrive in a way we have not seen before. Let me tell you why
Miles Morales the Average Kid from Brooklyn
Five years ago, I went to see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Spiderman is my favorite superhero. He was always the most down-to-earth and relatable superhero to me so I knew I’d probably like the movie no matter what. I had no idea how Into the Spider-Verse would absolutely blow me away. I didn’t expect the music, the animation, or the jokes, but above all, I did not expect the heart. When Miles took his leap of faith as “What’s Up Danger” played in the background, I realized what this film would mean to young Black kids. Especially Black boys who are so often discouraged from taking any leap of faith. I saw the love that was poured into this incredibly Black movie about an Afro-Latino kid from Brooklyn who just happened to be bitten by a radioactive spider, and I cried.
I definitely didn’t mean to cry, that was a little embarrassing. But that same year Black Panther came out, and I’d never seen us in these kinds of stories in movies this big. We never had this before. We didn’t even really know what we were missing until we saw it. I didn’t really know how else to react. And then it happened. After the movie, one of the people I went to see the movie with complained about it (and yes, yes he was). He complained about how it didn’t make sense that “anyone could wear the mask” and how if anyone could be Spider-Man then why would it matter. And that’s when I realized something else, they just don’t get it. They don’t even get the movies they’re watching. White people don’t even get the stories they are trolling us about online, they don’t get the heart of the movies they feel entitled to.
It shouldn’t have to be explained that Spider-Man is supposed to be the everyday average New York kid. If you’ve ever been to New York, the everyday average New York kid 100% is a kind-hearted, artistic, nerdy Afro-Latino kid from Brooklyn. When you think about it, it’s actually kind of nuts that Spider-Man was not always a kid of color. And the heart of Spider-Man is supposed to be that it could have been anyone. Anyone can wear the mask if they decide to be brave enough. But you know, I wouldn’t expect white people to get that with their response to another recast they’ve been bitc-complaining about…The Little Mermaid.
Halle Bailey as the Heart of The Little Mermaid
When Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel, there was uproar for years with white people even coining the word “gingercide. This is a word I refuse to define because it is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life, but I digress. I found all the backlash to Bailey as Ariel to be ridiculous, predictable, and racist. It was especially ridiculous once the film came out as there has quite literally never been anyone more fit for the role of Ariel than a Black woman.
You see, when the movie came out people claimed it had gone “woke” for merely updating a few details to make it make sense in 2023. While some claimed it to be too woke, others claimed it was not woke enough and was giving young girls the wrong impression. This is so absurd because The Little Mermaid (1979) is a feminist piece of media, and I can’t believe the same white women saying we were erasing their culture so clearly misunderstood the entire point of the film.
Now, this is going to really expose me as a Disney nerd, but that’s alright. The Little Mermaid, while dated, was a turning point for animation, Disney princesses, Disney at large, and women’s stories in general. Ariel is the separation between the classical Disney princesses (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella) and the Disney Renaissance princesses (Ariel, Jasmine, Belle, Mulan, and Pocahontas). When you think of the first three princesses you think incredibly white, damsel in distress, falls in love with the first man they see (not exaggerating), and with very few lines in their own movie. When you think of the later group of princesses, you have a group of women that, while they may have love interests, have their own personalities, opinions, and dreams.
Ariel was the start of that. Ariel’s story resonated with so many young girls of color, because she talks about not only wanting to be somewhere or someone different but to be something different. She wants to have an entirely different existence. With music being so crucial to this film and at large saving Disney animation as rent was due, we can’t ignore the music in this film.
“Part of Your World” is the first time we truly hear Ariel’s iconic voice, and she’s not talking about love or a man. She’s begging, pleading for any way out of her current existence. It doesn’t make sense, it’s not possible, and everyone around her tells her she’s foolish and naïve, but she knows better. She knows herself more than anyone else, and she knows what she wants. Sure, she focuses on Eric once she’s on land, but that want…no, that need to be human was already there. Eric simply ignited that want that was already there. Her story is so full of longing and need that Black women, queer people, and marginalized folk at large can easily relate to it. But of course, white women wouldn’t get that.
White women have a tendency to, no offense, relate their entire existence to men. White women, especially cishet white women, that have no sense of identity outside of their gender and their relationship to the men around them were never going to get that longing as being internal and not related to a romantic interest. This is why the story becomes deeper in the 2023 version with a Black woman as Ariel. The 2023 version highlights what was already there (but clearly missed by some) in the original. If you’ve watched The Little Mermaid Cinematic Universe (LMCU) you know that in the prequel Ariel’s mom’s death rocked her family so much that King Triton banned music at large from the kingdom. You also know that in the sequel Ariel eventually becomes a mother herself being the only Disney princess to do so. Both the prequel and sequel address Ariel’s trauma of losing her mom, Ursula’s relation to the family, and Ariel’s complicated relationship with her father.
This is highlighted in the 2023 version. Ariel is just a girl trying to make sense of her world with an overbearing father, sisters who just don’t get it, and an entire kingdom of pressure. With a Black woman at the helm, this becomes more obvious by Bailey’s performance which clearly inspired everyone involved in the film to dig deeper. Because I’m going to be very honest, this live-action could have been very mediocre. Disney’s best live actions often focus on the retelling of their villains’ stories. So to retell a story about a princess we already knew was a bold choice, but Bailey was the answer. On-screen, this inspired A Caribbean Kingdom, a love interest who isn’t one-dimensional, and an Ariel who can fight her own battles. Behind the scenes, this inspired an entire underwater musical, half in water half CGI, some of the most chilling vocals I’ve ever heard, and incredible acting from the whole cast. That is what you get when you cast a Black woman who understands the assignment. And it’s so obvious when you look at other Black recasts leading up to The Little Mermaid.
We’ve Always Understood the Assignment
I focused on Miles Morales and Ariel because they are extremely relevant this summer. But they are not the only iconic Black recasts in the media. To name a few of my favorites, MJ from Spider-Man: Homecoming, Louis from Interview with the Vampire, Finn from Star Wars (technically not a recast), Ann from Percy Jackson, Ryan Wilder from Batwoman, Starfire from Teen Titans, The 15th Doctor from Doctor Who, and most importantly Iris West from The Flash.
Without Candice Patton taking on the role of Iris West in The Flash, a majority of these other recasts would cease to exist. Patton endured a lot of hate that was completely unnecessary for a role that she transformed. Although she was human (mostly…), Patton was magical as Iris West. She was the perfect girl next door, and she was Black. And although that shouldn’t be a magical role for Black women…it kind of is.
(White) People are used to Black people existing in certain stories playing certain roles. They are used to seeing us as athletes, entertainers, gang members, and at large what they love to see us as is slaves. Slave movies do remarkably well with white audiences. It’s almost humorous how they only allow us to exist in our trauma, the trauma that they subjected us to. When you think about it, it’s insane that these are the stories we are allowed to win awards and get funding for. But the last time you saw a Black rom-com not based on trauma was when? Right.
It’s not that stories unpacking our trauma that bring attention to our history and hopefully healing to us aren’t important. It’s that we shouldn’t have to only exist in one kind of story. We also shouldn’t have to be in stories that are solely about our race. We are Black…but Blackness is about so much more than just race and racial trauma. Blackness is about joy, community, creativity, and a shared history. Blackness is an entire universe…and they don’t even know because they only allow us to be one thing: victims.
But we are so much more than just victims of racism. We are the girl next door, mermaids, heroes, Jedis, vampires, and whatever the fuck else we want to be. By taking these roles originally imagined for white people and making them our own, we create and show what we can be, not just who we have been. And these recasts don’t just help us (though that would be enough of a reason), they help everyone around us. They help us get a Latina Snow White, a lesbian She-Ra, and hopefully a South Asian Rapunzel. When Black people win, everyone wins. That’s powerful, that’s Afro-futurism in action, and that’s why they don’t want us to do it.
Afro-futurism in Action
Afro-futurism is defined as “a cultural aesthetic that combines science-fiction, history, and fantasy to explore the African-American experience and aims to connect those from the Black diaspora with their forgotten African ancestry”. To me, these Black recasts are an incredible example of Afro-futurism. But they are only the start. The original content we are getting from Black Creatives right now is the continuation. Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Entergalactic, and They Cloned Tyrone are a few that come to mind for me. Whether it be the animation style, the story, worldbuilding, or the ideas, these stories are original Black work that creates an image of us that we don’t just recognize but aspire to.
I believe Black recasts are a necessary part of this work being created. People tend to put Black people into a box, to make us monoliths, and reduce us to one thing. These recasts force creators to imagine outside the box of what even Black people thought was possible. When we force people to relate to Black people as we have had to with white characters on screen, we make them see us in our entirety. But I’m going to be honest, I don’t really care about whether non-Black people see us or not. I care that we see ourselves.
It’s very important to me that Black kids have a Black Ariel to look up to now. With Afro-futurism being about the connection between Black people and our forgotten African ancestry, it is no coincidence that Halle Bailey read The Deep by Rivers Solomon to prepare for the role of Ariel. The Deep is about an underwater society built by the water-breathing descendants of pregnant slaves thrown overboard from slave ships. Black people have had a complicated relationship with water since we were forcibly brought to The Americas. From acid being thrown into pools to keep us from swimming to Black women being pushed into pools to embarrass us to water insecurity across the Black diaspora, and more…we have a lot of trauma around water.
Having a Black mermaid is very healing for us as a community and connects us to our roots in Africa. Water is very powerful and can indeed take life away, but it also gives life as represented by so many different deities such as Oshun and Yemoja who are Yoruba deities. Oshun represents water, purity, fertility, love, and sensuality, and Yemoja the goddess of creation depicted as a mermaid represents water, the moon, motherhood, and protection. Having a Black mermaid, even if it’s just fantasy, shows us that we can overcome our trauma in real life too no matter how deep it goes.
Growing up, Ariel was one of my favorite princesses. I stopped eating fish (as fish were friends, not food), learned to swim, and learned to stand up for myself because of her, and she wasn’t even Black back then. No Disney princess was. So to see little Black kids see themselves in Miles Morales and Ariel and to start them off by telling them they can be whoever they want to be is important. To remind or even teach those of us who didn’t have that growing up that we can be more is just as if not more important. We are creating the worlds we want to exist in on-screen and manifesting that those worlds and their ideas transform this one. And they can be as mad about it as they want to be. But the damage is already done, we are already seeing ourselves it’s too late. And we’re doing it better. We are seeing ourselves fly in the places they only crawled. And to me, that’s magical.
Sydney Turner is a Black queer film and culture writer from Chicago. She likes to write about her perspective on media and the world at large. She is currently an associate editor at Off Colour and plans to bring her perspective to a writers’ room someday. At large, she wants to use her voice and her talents to uplift people like and different from her in whatever way possible.
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The post Black People Are Magical Too appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.