LETTERS FROM ADWOA, VALENTINE'S CARDS FEATURING BEAUTIFUL BROWN GIRLS

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We are LOVING this Etsy store called Letters From Adwoa! The online store aims to give young black girls Valentine's Day cards that feature their own likeness to pass out in class. As we all know representation is so important and these cards send a beautiful message! I love the comments in the reviews section of the Etsy page: 

I was totally blown away when these cards arrived. Also, when my daughter saw the cards she said "mommy is that me". Priceless moment!! Love theses cards that represent little black girls

Super fast shipping!!! Items just as pictured!! Thank you so much! My daughter and I absolutely love these beautiful cards! We can't wait to see what new designs you will have in the future. Hopefully you will offer some with little boys?!! Also children with locs 😉 (fingers crossed) will definitely be supporting again.

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Etsy Store / Instagram

Personally I don't think Valentine's Day should be the only day each year we share cards such as these. Send the beautiful brown girl in your life one of these precious cards any time of year! 

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BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT CREATES 411 PERSONALIZED DRAWINGS FOR CLASSMATES TO HELP REDUCE RACIAL TENSION

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Phillip Sossou is a high school senior at Boston Latin High School, which has had a significant amount of racial tension over the last year. He decided he wanted to celebrate all 411 of his classmates as a special graduation gift so he used his artistic talent to work and created wonderful charcoal portraits of each and every student. Check out the video for more 

According to Buzzfeed Sossou is headed to Bunker Hill Community College this fall and is then hoping to attend the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, after. I hope he continues to find ways to use his art to bring joy and bring together community! 

Here is another video of his work: 

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BLAXICANS

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"Duality: Blaxicans of L.A." is a photo exhibit that explores multiracial identity among the city's two largest minority groups.  Stanford graduate student, Walter Thompson-Hernandez, created the exhibit after starting an Instagram account exploring the issue.  Thompson-Hernandez, whose mother is Mexican and father is Black, started the Instagram account while doing research on the topic for his Latin American Studies graduate thesis.

"Most multiracial scholarship has been on the black and white binary. I felt it didn't cover the range of ways that multiracial people identify," he said.

Growing up, Thompson-Hernandez had to navigate both worlds, Black and Mexican.  Because most people identified him as Mexican based on his physical appearance, he identified as Mexican for a very long time.  He was forced by society to choose a side.  This pressure to choose led Thompson-Hernandez to do research on why people are forced to choose.

"There's tremendous nuance in how blacks and Mexicans identify, and I want to understand the motivations that guide lives of Blaxicans and how they construct identity," he said.

The exhibit opened the beginning of February, one of many projects and events in the Los Angeles area commemorating Black History Month.  Its opening night at Avenue 50 Studio, drew more than 500 people.

"I think this project reminds us of the complexities of identity and diversity, whether ethnically and or culturally, each of embodies," Sanchez said. "The popularity of this exhibition is only a testament for the need to continue this cross-cultural and intergenerational conversation."

Click here to read Rivas's story in full at Fusion, and click here to follow Thompson-Hernández's stunning "@BlaxicansOfLA" page. 

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NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM BY PHOTOGRAPHER ROBERT KALMAN

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As a Creative Director by profession I spend a good part of my days roaming Pinterest and the internet for inspiration, and one day I came across these beautiful portraits of interracial couples but New York photographer Robert Kalman. I loved the rawness of the photos. Kalman took the photos on the streets of New York City, Provincetown and during travels to Europe. 

Kalman's book No Difference Between Them was published in 2009, so it is not new but it was the first time I had come across them.  

I love that the couples seem to be in whatever pose they felt most comfortable versus being posed by the photographer. The images make me want to go deeper and learn their stories. Which photo is your favorite?  

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