Welcome to another edition as I unbox some of the various news stories I’ve seen across the week.
DISCOVERING ADEMEGHAN OLUASUSSEX: THE DUCHESS OF SUSSEX FINDS OUT SHE’S NIGERIAN
Stories that sparked my interest came as soon as I posted the last edition of TWU. I stumbled on a story about the next edition of the Invictus Games. Why this story made me giggle was its focus was on the fact that Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, has now discovered she’s of Nigerian descent.
Outted by The Duke of Sussex, Harry – though I’ve since read the duchess did a DNA heritage test which spoke about on her now defunct podcast a while back- he makes it clear she’ll essentially be rooting for everybody Black as per Issa Rae.
I got instant flashbacks to the memes of Harry and Meghan in African print and being dubbed Oluaharry. How right they were! It also made me wonder how Meghan must feel about it.
In their now infamous Netflix documentary, the duchess speaks on the fact she didn’t discover she was Black until she came to the UK if I remember correctly. I was taken aback at the time at how she’d missed this for a good few decades of her life. However, when a former agent mentioned that he didn’t know she was Black for at least a year during the time he represented her, it implies it wasn’t a massive part of her identity.
To now discover she’s Nigerian will have my West African brothers and sisters happily ready to claim her wholly and solely.
Nigeria will be taking part in The Invictus Games for the first time in its nine-year history. I’m wondering if Ademeghan used her influence on her husband to usher her ancestral home into these international games.
DISCOVERING WHY OUR HAIR HAS IMPACT: 7TH WORLD AFRO DAY ARRIVES AS DOES NEW HAIR DOC
Friday was World Afro Day and actress Fola Evans-Akingbola (Siren. The Night Agent, Death In Paradise) announced her first documentary, Hair on Set. Fola speaks to her fellow actresses about the struggle to get access to hair and make-up specialists who cater to them in the movie industry.
This isn’t to be misconceived as bougie actresses expecting more because of their status. This is the story of how hair and makeup artists generally have no idea how to do Afro hair and makeup, which is a learned skill. This puts actresses in a position where they either have unflattering looks or have to do the work themselves, a stark contrast to their white counterparts.
I remember a British actress speaking to me about her experiences on the set of a children’s TV programme. I encouraged her to speak to production about bringing in someone to assist her. She chose not to say anything as she didn’t want to be labelled ‘difficult’ as Black women tend to be when they choose to speak up.
As an agent now, this is something I would add to my client contracts if I worked in that industry. Is it as simple as that? Probably not – I imagine there would be discussions about budgets, however, with anti-discrimination laws against Afro hair ever increasing, particularly in the States, I would hope a coordinated approach could begin to inspire change. It would be great to get an inclusion clause for hair – similar to how actor and director Michael B. Jordan’s production company Outliers’ approach production – where not only are the actors taken care of properly, but opportunities are created for diverse talent to enter the industry.
You can see the trailer for Hair On Set below. The show will air on Sky this October.
My article, The Business of Hair and Why it Matters, written for World Afro Day, is available now.
DISCOVERING YOU’RE NOT ALONE: NATIONAL WORKING PARENTS DAY
This beautifully honest LinkedIn post by award-winning DEI Media professional Shelley Bishton reminded me that September 16 is National Working Parents Day.
It’s so funny how many things get left out of the baby books. Shelley’s highly relatable post about juggling two boys and work during the six-week holidays made me reflect on my summer, which was somewhat non-existent. There was a moment this week where I realised that I had my eldest son set up at the dinner table doing practice GCSE questions as he’s just started Year 10 whilst I was potty training my youngest son who is two all whilst running a business.
I’m supremely blessed to have a robust family network that supports me as I can’t imagine how I would do it all. I know that having support isn’t always the case so I salute all parents juggling kiddie duties, work duties and every other expectation put upon us. I hope that you’re taking time to practise self-care.
DISCOVERING OUR FINANCIAL SAVVY: FEMALE INVEST IS THE MONEY EDUCATION GUIDE YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS
So in my lifetime, I’ve subscribed to several services that have felt like a waste of time and money. Female Invest is not one of them and is the best investment I’ve made.
Founded by women for women, this network talks about all things finance: from budgeting to stocks and shares to pensions, everything you need to know if you’re a woman who wants to get savvy with their finances. Their portal filled with resources, webinars, and training courses is just fantastic as they’re accessible, relatable, jargon-free, and delivered in bite-size pieces that you can digest as and when you see fit.
They’ve also produced two books: Girls Just Wanna Have Funds and the forthcoming Girls Just Wanna Have Impact Funds which is out in November and helps women figure out how to pick stocks that not only build wealth for you and your loved ones but make a difference in the world.
I couldn’t recommend Female Invest more highly.
DISCOVERING MOTHER NATURE IS BLACK: APPLE ENLISTS OCTAVIA SPENCER FOR PUBLIC SUSTAINABILITY REVEAL
So Apple was looking for an engaging way to update the world on their environmental and sustainability achievements. The original tech innovators wanted to go beyond charts, graphs, and snazzy PowerPoint presentations. (Does anyone know who decided to call them decks now?)
So they decided to do a comedy sketch where they answer to Mother Nature, who is played by the incredible Octavia Spencer. Now I’ve seen Apple catching some heat not only for choosing Octavia – how dare a Black woman play Mother Nature. It’s just like Halie Bailey playing a mermaid! Unbelievable *rolls eyes* – but the fact they decided to even do the skit in the first place.
I loved it and learnt more about Apple than I had before. To have an office fully run on renewable energy and to be plastic-free by 2030 andddddd bring out a new set of environmentally friendly products they sold me I can’t lie.
Octavia held them to task beautifully too. Excellent casting choice. You can watch the production below.
AND ON THAT NOTE…
Octavia’s turn for Apple reminded me of another time when a huge brand took on a huge movie star and made magic.
Amazon’s 2021 Super Bowl advert for Alexa with Michael B. Jordan still makes me blush. See how you feel about it.
