Dumbo, Bk- Wednesday, December 7th No Lies Told Then (NLTT) and Honest Tea hosted a powerful event titled ‘Let’s Talk Over Lemonade: The Power of #BlackGirlMagic’ at We Work DUMBO in Brooklyn, NY. The event featured four talented and successful ladies – Leah J, the founder of Black Girls Do and Fresh Daily Inc accompanied by DC Weekly writer, Kandice Brown, The Blonde Misfit founder, Jame’ Jackson and Tiffany Reid, the Senior Fashion Market Editor at Cosmopolitan.
The goal of the evening was to discuss the importance of empowering one another and what it means to portray ‘Black Girl Magic’. The sponsors and panel ensured that the night was a great success and enjoyable for the intimate crowd to enjoy. The night included a reading of an original poem by poet Luki, a panel led by Torri Oates, an one on one session with Tiffany Reid, and ended off with a Q & A portion with the audience members.
The discussion revolved around each woman’s professional lives, what Black Girl Magic meant, and the lies they were told begun. Each woman stressed the need of empowering other women, being resilient, and how they live their lives unapologetically. When it came to lies and stereotypes that society puts on women of color, Leah J said it best, “you are the definition of you and if you allow someone to define who you are, you are not living in your purpose.”
Girl Boss Leah J also spilled some exciting news – her lifestyle and entertainment platform, Fresh Daily Inc, will re-debut in March of 2017! The entrepreneur also started a new venture on her YouTube channel labeled ‘City Gems’ where she’ll go behind the scenes to meet the owners of hidden hot spots that everyone ought to know about. Check out the first two features here.
City Gems is ready to hit the road and travel to a city near you! If you have a hidden gem in your city that you think Leah J should check out and feature, feel free to email your submissions to livingleahj@gmail.com with City Gems in the subject line.
During the Q&A portion of the evening, audience members asked how the panel got to where they are and advice on pursuing their dreams. The women talked about the importance of interning and networking but most importantly – to never be afraid to make mistakes or fear rejection and to keep going for it.
One audience member asked how single mothers can continue to pursue their dreams and to not fall into the stereotype of being a young, black single mother. Leah J, a single mother of two herself said that it can be a struggle but to rely on your team because “you can’t do it all alone.” Her secret? To invest in herself and build an empire so that her legacy, her beautiful daughters can revel in it and know that hard work pays off.
We closed the evening off with more Honest Tea lemonade and networking amongst one another. We had a great evening and I hope those of you that attended did too. Thank you to NLTT, Honest Tea, We Work DUMBO, Billy Gates of The Eye of Gates, Leah J, Kandice, Jame’, Tiffany, and the audience for the inspirational experience.
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