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Multiple Sclerosis Fact #147

Photo credit: istock

This is Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Week. I know, I know, it is technically MS Awareness Month. I guess at one point in time it was just one week and was eventually expanded to the full month. MS Awareness and Education (I have been leaving a word out) Month was established by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in 2003. MS Awareness Week focuses on warriors and their stories. It gives people living with MS an opportunity to discuss their singular experience. If you are unaware, MS affects every single person differently. Often called the snowflake disease. When a warrior shares their story, it allows the world to see all the ways that a person can be effected. Oh and don’t let me start counting the ways.

So here I am, telling my updated MS stories this week. The facts I will be sharing with you aren’t scientifically proven. They are Ebony proven. Which means they are not up for debate. Unless, you walk my walk and live my life, these facts cannot be disproven. And the numbers are also randomly selected by me 🤷🏾‍♀️.

Multiple Sclerosis Fact #147

Carpet is the devil and rugs are its little demons.

I hate carpet and rugs are a close second. I cannot manage to walk on carpet or over a rug without tripping. It is unavoidable. Unfortunately, my walking has gotten worse and I cannot pick my legs up fully to walk. I kind of scrub my feet across the floor. My right is worse than the left. This unflattering and unconventional walking style does not work well on uneven surfaces, things that can catch my feet, and any little area unseen by the human eye. Walking is a concentrated effort. And occasionally I have the nerve to try to walk fast. Never a good idea. Thanking God for all the times I could have hit the floor, but didn’t 😆.

More MS facts to come this week. I will also highlight another MS resource that I hope you will share with any warriors that you may know. I cannot spread the message by myself. I need your help. Stay well and whole. Much Love 🧡 💚

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Black Fact: Ursula Burns

Since it is Women’s History Month, all my Black Fact posts will be about women and women owned businesses and endeavors, past or present. The value of women is immeasurable. We are leaders in the film, music, beauty, and fashion industries.  Women may not have dominated the technology and science industries yet, but they are breaking in and making a name for ourselves. Ursula Burns is one woman who not only worked with technology for a number of years, but went on to be one of the first to run a Fortune 500 company.
I don’t remember exactly how I found out about Ursula Burns. Maybe it was through a book recommendation on Scribd, a digital library app. Ursula Burns was the first black woman to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Xerox. She held this position from 2009 to 2016. Ursula started working with Xerox as an mechanical engineering intern at 19 years old climbing her way up the ladder to CEO 25 years later. She also was the chairwoman at Xerox from 2010 to 2017.
Ursula stepped down from her position as CEO at Xerox going on to work at Teneo and VEON. She also co-founded the non-profit, Change the Equation, an initiative that helps students become interested and proficient in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). On top of serving on the boards of ExxonMobil, Uber and American Express, Ursula has written a memoir called, Where You Are Is Not Who You Are.
I have referenced information from this article, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ursula-Burns and Ursula’s memoir for this post. Here is another link to gather more information about this pioneering woman. Or you can just read her book and hear it all in her own words.
If this blog post, or any other previous posts, has resonates with you, please share it with someone else. Someone who you feel may benefit or enjoy this content. It would be greatly appreciated. Be well and whole. Much Love 🧡 💚

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Black Fact: Ebony Fashion Fair

To kick off Women’s History Month, I would like to highlight one of my namesakes, Ebony Fashion Fair along with Fashion Fair cosmetics created and previously owned by John H. Johnson and Eunice W. Johnson. The Johnsons were a husband and wife team who owned Johnson Publishing and started Ebony and Jet magazines for people of color. I remembering seeing the pictures for Ebony Fashion Fair in Jet Magazine growing up. And the pink containers of Fashion Fair make-up in my mom’s bathroom. Most of the information I will be sharing in this post comes from The Beauty of Blackness documentary streaming now on HBO Max as well as the articles, whose links I have included in this post. The documentary covers the past history of Fashion Fair cosmetics, its acquisition, and its relaunch.

Ebony Fashion Fair was a fashion show started in 1958 by Mrs. Johnson. The fashion show was the first to feature black models wearing clothes from designers such as Givechy, Ungaro, and Coco Chanel. Ebony Fashion Fair traveled around the country via charter bus for 3 month stretches at a time. The fashion show would visit cities and states where black people continued to face overt racism and discrimination. Yet, the models and organizers persevered and brought black elegance, grace, and fashion throughout the country. For more information on Ebony Fashion Fair, you can visit this website.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/reliving-ebony-fashion-fair-runway-one-couture-dress-time-180962987/

Mrs. Johnson observed the models having to mix and match make-up to create a shade of foundation that suited their complexions. This discovery inspired the creation of Fashion Fair cosmetics in 1973, a line of make-up that catered to women of color. The cosmetic line was carried in Bloomingdale’s thanks to Audrey Smaltz, the first commentator for Ebony Fashion Fair shows, who had a connection from previously being employed at the department store. From that point, Fashion Fair cosmetics expanded to other leading department stores.

Unfortunately, Johnson Publishing, which housed Ebony Fashion Fair and Fashion Fair cosmetics, filed bankruptcy in 2019 shutting down Fashion Fair cosmetics. Desiree Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack swooped in, purchased and revived the cosmetic line. The co-founders partnered with Sephora and relaunched Fashion Fair cosmetics in September 2021. The packaging has a new look and the products have been reformulated and are now vegan. You can find the sleek white and gold make-up tubes and palettes at Sephora, Sephora.com, and FashionFair.com. Tap this link to read what inspired Rogers and Mayberry McKissack to aquire Fashion Fair cosmetics.

https://www.instyle.com/beauty/makeup/fashion-fair-relaunch-interview

I just happened upon the documentary, The Beauty of Blackness, today and I throughly enjoyed it. Seeing the behind the scenes development of the relaunch and the history of such an iconic brand was inspiring. I am and will probably always be a plain Jane who doesn’t bother much with make-up. Yet, I still wish much success for Fashion Fair cosmetics. If this blog post, or any other previous posts, has resonates with you, please share it with someone else. Someone who you feel may benefit or enjoy this content. It would be greatly appreciated. Be well and whole. Much Love 🧡 💚

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