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Golden Brooks Just Celebrated Her 50th Birthday And We're Shook
Twenty years ago, Mara Brock Akil gifted the culture with a sitcom that would single-handedly repurpose what it meant to see successful black women on prime time television. This gift ended up being the brilliantly black super-show,Girlfriends. Girlfriends changed the landscape of what it meant to be black women, as it depicted who we are when we step into our whole selves, giving us permission to step outside the confines of corporate America and simultaneously listen to our music, drink chai lattes, date as much as possible, and be black AF at the same damn time. We all loved us some Joan, Toni, Lynn, and the infamous Maya Denise Wilkes, and we still do.
Maya, played by Golden Brooks, immediately became a standout favorite, cementing her place as a cultural phenom who must be protected at all costs (liiiike, I'm serious--whatever that cost is to make sure sis is good, I'm writing the check).
Most recently, Brooks had us all out here collectively screaming "Oh, hell, yes!" as she took to Instagram to celebrate her jaw-dropping 50th birthday. And ladies, we were shooketh by the fact that she is somehow cheating the aging process, by not aging at all.
Since we don't believe there's a such thing as talking about Girlfriendstoo much around here, what better way to celebrate with her, than detailing how precious she is to black women.
So, Happy Birthday, Queen Golden! Here's 5 things about Golden Brooks we should all celebrate:
Golden understands the importance of using her platform to amplify the voices of black women.
Brooks is notorious for using her platform for good. Her social media is filled with references to in-demand messages, from getting out to vote, to wearing masks, all the way to the demand for justice for Breonna Taylor. In her latest movie, The Waiting Room, a BETher initiative to promote Breast Cancer Awareness, Brooks takes the time to visit the conversation of the importance of conducting self-checks. She shared with the New York Post:
"Sadly, [breast cancer] is a condition that really hits African-American women. It's a scary moment when you hear the diagnosis that you have breast cancer. Early detection is everything. As women, we just have to really be on it—so it's good to get those Pap smears and mammograms."
The Waiting Room takes a look at a broken relationship between Cynthia (Brooks) and her daughter, that's tested after Cynthia receives a cancer diagnosis and struggles to cope with the disease.
She adores her daughter (who is a real life Barbie, and the perfect blend of mom and dad).
In 2009, Brooks gave birth to her daughter, Dakota, who she often shows off on Instagram. Dakota, who's dad is DB Woodside (The Temptations, Suits, Lucifer) is an exact replica of both mom and dad, making her one of the luckiest girls in the world.
In a caption on Instagram, she wrote:
"I know you still like me to carry you like you're still a baby when you're sad, I know your favorite pass time is still snuggling up with me for our movie nights and I CANNOT believe my Dakota Woodside is going to the 6th grade!! So proud of you baby girl. These kids have seen a lot in these past few months. More than most in their lifetime. You handled it all like a boss kid!"
Golden often references Maya on her social media.
Nostalgia for the win! Listen, I don't know if who enjoys reminiscing about Maya more: me or Golden, but her social media is filled with enough hilarious Maya references and Girlfriends shout-outs to hug our worlds. Seeing her have fun with a character that we all hold as a staple, is almost too much to handle. She often repost fan clips of watching the show or checks in to see what episodes people are watching for the day.
"We made magic! ONE of my favs was this episode! With my talented @traceeellisross We ALL did the damn thang!! Will be forever grateful to ALL the gang!! Thank you guys for sharing all of these amazing clips!!"
Ah, my heart.
She gives us looks!
Don't let the age fool you, sis is not new to any of this. Brooks keeps up updated with various flawless selfies and pic posts through her social media accounts. One says, "Just taking in the LOVE." Another, "Just smile because..."
Golden is loving and supportive of everyone in black culture.
In addition to her Girlfriends, daughter, selfies, and awareness posts, Brooks is all about supporting and loving on those around her, particularly in the black culture. From Kobe, to Naya Rivera, to promoting friend's businesses. She sends prayers (Sinbad), wishes special birthdays (TV Husband, Khalil Kain), and more, Golden shows how much of a gem she really is.
Being a light in dark times, is such an underrated characteristic.
--
Thank you for everything, Golden!
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Featured image via Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com
Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
This Black Woman-Owned Creative Agency Shows Us The Art Of Rebranding
Rebranding is an intricate process and very important to the success of businesses that want to change. However, before a business owner makes this decision, they should determine whether it's a rebrand or an evolution.
That's where people like Lola Adewuya come in. Lola is the founder and CEO of The Brand Doula, a brand development studio with a multidisciplinary approach to branding, social media, marketing, and design.
While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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Exclusive: After Focusing On His Career For So Long, David Banner Is Now Ready To Find A Wife
During the Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heistpremiere, David Banner, who stars in the film, opened up about his weight loss and his desire to get married and start a family. At 50, David has accomplished many feats, from rapping, producing, and acting, and now he's ready for the next phase of his life. "I want to get married," he tells xoNecole.
"I'm tired. I want to find my wife, have some kids. We chase all of these esoteric goals, and sometimes we look back, and we left the things that really matter. I looked up one day, I had all of them, the music accolades, the film accolades, not all the ones that I want, but a lot of them. I had accomplished my goal, had chased my goal so long that when I looked up, I saw that I ran off and left everything else."
He also shares how working in the entertainment industry can sometimes affect his life and relationships with others. "We forget to be human beings, and people don't allow us to be human beings," he continues. "So, that's the reason why I said what I said, because I know what y'all platform means, and I want people to know that there are still some human beings that's up on that camera, and sometimes we hurt too."
Back in 2016, the "Like a Pimp" artist released the single "Marry Me" and shared in an exclusive interview with us how he is working on becoming his best self for his future wife.
"I just want to be the man that most Black women want to marry. I want to be a Black man that stands strong," he said. "I'm not perfect, but [I want to be the man] women want to marry and that kids want to be their father. I want to be that man. [When I die] I want people to say that that's a strong African man, I am proud that he's a part of my culture."
During our most recent interview with the "Get Like Me" rapper, he also revealed that he lost 35 lbs and dished on how important it is to take care of your body. "I have this thing that I want to be our children's superhero on the screen and off, and people always talk about mental health, but part of your mental health is what you put in your body," he says.
"People always talk about God. People always talk about the church, but the real church is your body, your temple. So I am treating my body and my temple as if God is in there."
Fight Night is out now on Peacock.
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