On today's show, I interview Fitness Entrepreneur Kimberly Turner. Everyone calls her Kim. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Kim has rocked her natural for nearly 25 years. She likes the look because it’s versatile, healthy and fits her fitness lifestyle. At 51, her sculpted body and flat abs put most twentysomethings to shame. When I saw her wearing workout gear in a photo she emailed to me for this program, I thought, I need to sign up for a gym membership ASAP. Kim is the owner of Fitness Sno...
Feb 10, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 12
On today’s show, I interview A’Lelia Bundles. She is African American haircare royalty. I spoke to A’Lelia just days before the 152nd birthday of her great-great-grandmother, Madam C. J. Walker. I’d heard of Madam Walker, the first documented, self-made black millionaire, who built a haircare empire in the early 1900s. What self-respecting black person hasn’t? But, I didn’t know about A’Lelia until my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister and Hair! How I Grew It guest, Tamika Felder, suggested I rea...
Jan 27, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 11
On today’s show, I interview my cousin, DaNotta Jackson. She’s a retired United States Marine Corps Company First Sergeant. A Beaufort, South Caroline native, DaNotta’s been sporting her natural for more than 20 years. When I asked her to be a guest on Hair! How I Grew It, she, of course, said yes. I mean, saying no to family, her blood – not really an option. Love you cousin! But, DaNotta didn’t think anyone would care about what she had to say because she’s been natural for a while. I explaine...
Jan 13, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 10
On today’s show, I interview Christian. She is the daughter of my friend and Hair! How I Grew It guest, Caroline Brewer. Caroline, as Christian mentioned in the beginning of the show, is a pioneer. She was one of just a few black women, who wore a natural in her native home of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the early 1990s. Listen to episode four of Hair! How I Grew It to hear Caroline share her hair journey, which is filled with courage, some mean girls, hate mail, love and deep natural hair wisdom. C...
Dec 02, 2019•40 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Normally, I introduce my guest, but today, I’m letting my guest introduce herself because quite frankly, she does it a hell of a lot better than I would.
Nov 18, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 7
On today’s show, I interview Kamara Douglas. The natural hair discrimination she experienced on a job helped change the law in Cincinnati, Ohio. Now, Cincy is the second U.S. city to ban natural hair discrimination at work. New York is the first. Even though I’d never met Kamara, I knew in my gut after reading about her, she would be a great guest, so I called her and asked for this interview. She didn’t hesitate to say yes despite a busy schedule. Kamara is a full-time student at Northern Kentu...
Nov 04, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 6
On today’s show, I interview my friend, Communications Professional and Children’s Book Author Caroline Brewer. Caroline is busy gearing up for the November release of her 12th book called Darius Daniels: Game On!, so I’m grateful, she took some time to talk to me. Years ago, when I asked some sistahs to write their natural hair stories for a collection of essays I wanted to publish, Caroline was the first one to say yes, so I knew I had to interview her for this podcast. We met in the mid-1990s...
Oct 08, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 4
On today’s show, I interview my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister, Carla Moore. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, Carla is the second Delta featured on the program. Don’t worry, this won’t turn into a DST podcast, but a few more of my Sorors will probably stop by. My father introduced me to Carla in the mid-1990s when I was a cub reporter covering crime and courts in Indiana, and she was a judge in the Akron Municipal Court. Aware of my beats, she gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. She let me ...
Sep 23, 2019•24 min•Season 1Ep. 3
On today’s show, I interview my sistah from another mistah, Estee Irby. I wanted to talk to Estee because she’s my natural and silver hair twin. Like me, she has course, very tight coily curls. But, unlike me, she’s a natural newbie. After relaxing her hair for nearly 30 years, she stopped chemically straightening it about two years ago, which I did not see coming. But, what surprised me even more was her decision to stop dyeing. She got her first gray strand before she was a teenager, so colori...
Sep 09, 2019•20 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In this HHIGI bonus clip, my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister, Jennifer Jones, explains why she'll never wear wigs and weaves, but she has considered sporting braids. Braids pic courtesy of Meghan Linehan at https://www.flickr.com/photos/meghanl/.
Sep 04, 2019•1 min
On today’s show, I interview my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister, Jennifer Jones. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Jennifer was one of the first people I called for advice when I was thinking about going natural. She’s a Quality Assurance Analyst based in Charlotte, North Carolina. We pledged Delta together in the early 1990’s. If you’re not familiar with black hair care lingo, here’s a brief breakdown of common terms to help get you through the show. Chemical relaxer aka relaxer aka perm is...
Aug 26, 2019•46 min•Season 1Ep. 1
My Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister, Jennifer Jones, is the first guest on Hair! How I Grew It, which debuts on August 26, 2019. Here's a bonus clip from Jennifer's interview. She explains why she occasionally still blows out her natural.
Aug 19, 2019•3 min
Host and Producer Drakeel Burns previews Hair! How I Grew It and explains why she created the podcast.
Aug 11, 2019•2 min
