Source: Courtesy of Dark & Lovely / Dark & Lovely
On April 25 at 5:30 p.m. ET, iconic haircare brand Dark & Lovely is hosting a free virtual masterclass called A Black Girl’s Guide To Mentorship that’ll focus on advising young Black women navigating their academic and career journeys.
Moderated by MSNBC’s Symone Sanders, the event will include insight from 18-year-old Dark & Lovely brand ambassador, actress and producer Storm Reid and NAACP Chief Strategy Officer Yumeka Rushing. The panel will discuss everything mentorship-related — such as how to secure a mentor, what being a great mentee entails, goal and intention setting, time management and more.
Those who tune in will also get the opportunity to connect with other attendees, share their mentorship experiences, hear a musical set by DJ Kiss and be eligible for the event’s prizes and giveaways.
“Throughout my life, I have been lucky enough to have mentors that have guided me and been a consistently present support to help me get to where I am today,” said Reid in a statement. “I’m so excited to join Dark & Lovely in hosting this event to help share the importance and ability to create a shared community and support system for all of our journeys, especially as young Black females.”
Dark & Lovely’s Building Beautiful Futures initiative “provides scholarships, mentorship and career coaching opportunities to Black female college students and young professionals,” according to a press release shared by the brand.
Through the BBF initiative, which launched in January 2022, Dark & Lovely has partnered with the NAACP Youth & College Division “to provide four-year scholarships of $10,000 per year for young Black women pursuing four-year degrees.”
To learn more about the scholarships, applications are open now through May 20, 2022.
A Black Girl’s Guide to Mentorship will serve as the first installment of the brand’s Virtual Mentorship Masterclass Series, a portion within the haircare icon’s BBF initiative.
“With the Building Beautiful Futures mentorship masterclass series, we aim to inspire and uplift the next generation of Black female leaders,” said Dark & Lovely General Manager Erica Culpepper. “Now more than ever, young Black women are in need of actionable support that can propel them forward.”
“The NAACP prides itself in supporting the enhancement of the lives of the Black community,” Rushing added. “Recent events highlighted in public, such as the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, further push the necessity for higher education among young Black women. Through our partnership with Dark & Lovely, the NAACP Youth and College Division takes pride in aiding the achievements of our scholarship recipients throughout their undergraduate matriculation. I’m honored to be a part of such monumental influence for the betterment of Black women’s success.”
To register for A Black Girl’s Guide to Mentorship, click here.
