00:00Thank you Essence. I am much more comfortable behind the scenes so to receive this recognition
00:07was truly very surprising and just beyond affirming coming from a brand like Essence which is
00:14so special and meaningful to me. I grew up in a home where my mom braided my hair and she braided
00:22my sister's hair and she braided her friend's hair and her co-worker's hair and truly women
00:29all over the community came to our home to have their hair braided and I don't have to explain
00:35to this room the sanctity and how sacred that time is. So in our house we had a braid room
00:44and it was a room where women from all over the community would come and share their stories
00:49and they would come and flip through the stacks of my mom's Essence magazines and Essence would
00:57set the tone for the conversation.
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