Black is Beautiful. During the semester, I joined a new club here on campus called Our Health Matters. This club highlights the importance of health for black women on Princeton’s campus. The club’s goals are to create a space for women of color to educate themselves and understand their mental and physical health. It can take some time to navigate through Princeton as a black woman who is in search of her identity. This club strives to facilitate a space in which women of color can feel open to sharing their mental health journey while learning about techniques to foster growth. While we focus on women of color, it is important to know that this club is open to all students and faculty.
Black is Important. Understanding black haircare and the ways that your difference is beautiful is highly promoted through Our Health Matters. This is a club made for black women, by black women. The club wants to give black women, the ability to express themselves freely and honestly in a space where they are both women and black. The club allows women of color to not have to pick between the two.
Black is Sufficient. This year, the club will focus on the facet of hair to understand health. We are learning to understand haircare in terms of learning how to take care of your hair’s porosity and texture, and/or keeping black hair healthy during the winter months. Additionally, we touch on protective styles, how to do them and what styles match your personality. Moreover, the club would like to further explore professionalism as it relates to hair. For instance, we can discuss what it means to have the state of California pass a law that allows black women to wear their hair natural in a professional setting. We will also work to organize panels that will have different Black women, speakers, and alumna, promoting health and intelligence for the undergraduate students.
Black Radiates. Our first event was to review vision boards for the year with magazines like Essence that mainly focuses on blackness in styles and beauty. Having this space on campus will help me with my identity, and knowing that there’s a place that supports me as I am, allows me to be comfortable. I can’t wait to see what else this club has in store!