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The seeds for these entrepreneurs were planted during their time as students at schools like Spelman, North Carolina A&T, and more, which is why xoNecole caught up with Look Good Live Well’s Ariane Turner, HBCU Buzz’s Luke Lawal and Morehouse Senior Director of Marketing and Comms and Press Secretary Jasmine Gurley to highlight the role their HBCU roots play in their work as entrepreneurs, the legacy they aim to leave behind through the work that they do, and more as a part of Hyundai’s Best In Class initiative.
On Honoring HBCU Roots To Create Something That Is For Us, By Us
Ariane Turner
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When Ariane Turner launched Look Good, Live Well, she created it with Black and brown people in mind, especially those with sensitive skin more prone to dryness and skin conditions like acne and eczema.
The Florida A&M University graduate launched her business to create something that addressed topical skin care needs and was intentional about its approach without negative terminology.
Turner shared that it is important to steer clear of language often adopted by more prominent brands, such as “banishing breakouts” or “correcting the skin,” because, in reality, Turner says there is nothing wrong with the way that our skin and bodies react to various life changes.
“I think what I have taken with me regarding my HBCU experience and translated to my entrepreneurial experience is the importance of not just networking,” Turner, the founder and CEO of Look Good, Live Well, tellls xoNecole.
“We hear that in business all the time, your network is your net worth, but family, there’s a thing at FAMU that we call FAMU-lee instead of family, and it’s very much a thing. What that taught me is the importance of not just making relationships and not just making that connection, but truly working on deepening them, and so being intentional about connecting with people initially, but staying connected and building and deepening those relationships, and that has served me tremendously in business, whether it’s being able to reach back to other classmates who I went to school with, or just networking in general.”
She adds, “I don’t come from a business background. As soon as I finished school, I continued with my entrepreneurial journey, and so there’s a lot of that traditional business act and the networking, those soft skills that I just don’t have, but I will say that just understanding how to leverage and network community and to build intentional relationships is something that has taken me far and I definitely got those roots while attending FAMU.”
On Solving A Very Specific Need For The Community
Luke Lawal Jr.
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When Luke Lawal Jr. launched HBCU Buzz, his main focus was to represent his community, using the platform to lift as they climbed by creating an outlet dedicated to celebrating the achievements and positive news affecting the 107 historically HBCUs nationwide.
By spotlighting the wonderful things that come from the HBCU community and coupling it with what he learned during his time at Bowie State University, Lawal used that knowledge to propel himself as an entrepreneur while also providing his people with accurate representation across the internet.
“The specific problem in 2011 when I started HBCU Buzz was more so around the fact that mainstream media always depict HBCUs as negative,” Lawal says. “You would only see HBCUs in the mainstream media when someone died, or the university president or someone was stepping down. It was always bad news, but they never shed light on all the wonderful things from our community."
So, I started HBCU Buzz to ensure the world saw the good things that come from our space. And they knew that HBCUs grew some of the brightest people in the world, and just trying to figure out ways to make sure our platform was a pedestal for all the students that come through our institutions.”
“The biggest goal is to continue to solve problems, continue to create brands that solve the problems of our communities, and make sure that our products, our brands, our companies, and institutions are of value and they’re helping our community,” he continues. “That they’re solving problems that propel our space forward.”
On How Being An HBCU Alum Impacts The Way One Shows Up In The World
Jasmine Gurley
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Jasmine Gurley is a proud North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alum. She is even more delighted with her current role, which enables her to give back to current HBCU students as the Senior Director of Brand Marketing and Communications and official press secretary at Morehouse College.
“It was a formative experience where I really was able to come into my own and say yes to all the opportunities that were presented to me, and because of that, it’s been able to open the doors later in life too,” says Gurley of her experience at North Carolina A&T. “One thing I love about many HBCUs is that we are required to learn way more about African American history than you do in your typical K through 12 or even at the higher ed level."
She adds, “It allowed us to have a better understanding of where we came from, and so for me, because I’m a storyteller, I’m a history person, I’m very sensitive to life in general, being able to listen to the stories and the trials that our ancestors overcame, put the battery pack in my back to say, ‘Oh nothing can stop me. Absolutely nothing can stop me. I know where I came from, so I can overcome something and try anything. And I have an obligation to be my ancestors’ wildest dreams. Simultaneously, I also have a responsibility to help others realize that greatness.
Gurley does not take her position at an HBCU, now as a leader, lightly.
“People think I’m joking when I say I’m living the dream, but I really am,” she notes. “So I wake up every day and know that the work that I do matters, no matter how hard it might be, how frustrating it may be, and challenging it. I know the ripple effect of my work, my team, and what this institution does also matter. The trajectory of Black male experiences, community, history, and then just American advancement just in general.”
On the other hand, through her business, Sankofa Public Relations, Gurley is also on a mission to uplift brands in their quest to help their respective communities. Since its inception in 2017, Sankofa PR has been on a mission to “reach back and reclaim local, national, and global communities by helping those actively working to move” various areas of the world, focusing on pushing things forward for the better.
“Through Sankofa, we’ve worked with all different types of organizational brands and individuals in several different industries, but I would think of them as mission-based,” says Gurley.
“So with that, it’s an opportunity to help people who are trying to do good in the world, and they are passionate about what they’re doing. They just need help with marketing issues, storytelling, and branding, and that’s when my expertise can come into play. Help them get to that moment where they can tell their story through me or another platform, and that’s been super fulfilling.”
Join us in celebrating HBCU excellence! Check out our Best In Class hub for inspiring stories, empowering resources, and everything you need to embrace the HBCU experience.
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So, what do you do if, after going through one and doing some healing, a former friend comes back into your world and wants to try and reconcile? Is that something that should even be up for consideration? Oh, if only there was a cut-and-dried or black-and-white answer for that. The reality is, since each friendship is so unique that it pretty much has its own “fingerprint,” there is no simple yes or no resolve.
However, I do think that I can provide you with a few things to strongly consider (and perhaps even journal about) so that you will end up making the kind of decision that you can feel good about; the kind that you can make real and lasting peace with.
If there is a former friend who has recently resurfaced on some level and you’re wondering if a “round two” of friendship is in the cards for you, here are some things that you should think long and hard about before saying or doing anything about…it all.
Why Did the Friendship End to Begin With?
GiphyNot too long ago, I ran into someone who I hadn’t seen in years. As we were catching up, one of the things that she inquired about was the status of someone who we have in common — or at least used to. I’m definitely not friends with this person anymore because, let’s just say that they did something that was so selfish and even emotionally cruel, that there is simply no coming back from it. That said, I haven’t not forgiven them; it’s just that, even though I knew that they had some narcissistic traits, I didn’t realize that they were capable of going as low as they did or that they would absolutely suck at holding themselves accountable when I brought the issue to their attention.
Y’all, when it comes to reconciling with someone on the friendship tip, while I am sometimes open to the possibility, what I am absolutely not interested in is when those who don’t take accountability for their actions try to come at me on some, “Girl, you’re still on that? When are you going to let that go?” gaslighting mess. And why is that the case? Because if someone isn’t willing to acknowledge what they did — or how you feel about what they did — there is a huge chance that they are going to repeat the same actions…and next time, it could be worse.
And so, before doing anything else, the first thing that you should reflect upon is why the friendship break-up transpired in the first place. Was it just a big misunderstanding or did some pretty damning things transpire that revealed a lot about the person’s character and/or their commitment (or lack thereof) to the friendship overall? It’s hard to begin something new if you’re not sure about why “it” ended to begin with.
Have You BOTH Taken Accountability?
GiphySpeaking of accountability, it takes two people to be friends and usually, it takes the actions (or inactions) of two people, at least on some level, to bring a friendship to an end as well — and that brings me to the next point. Many years ago, a former friend of mine decided to marry a guy who had all sorts of red flags. Partly because I’m a marriage life coach and then partly because I’m simply Shellie, all of my friends know that if I see a very potential relational trainwreck about to happen, I’m absolutely going to speak up — and with her, I did. Her church told her that I was being an “enemy” of the engagement (chile) and so she ended our friendship.
I believe she was still in her newlywed years when we ran into each other at an event. All she did the entire time was sob and, although we weren’t friends anymore, because I did still care about her, afterward, we spoke for several hours — about everything, including what ultimately transpired between us. I was glad that we had that conversation because I was able to take accountability for how abrupt I was and how I could’ve been more compassionate and she took accountability for not standing up for herself enough to where some strangers (of our friendship) could get her to make such a drastic decision.
Still, when it was all said and done, although I was glad that we were able to make peace when she mentioned us exchanging numbers so that we could go thrift store shopping (which is totally one of my favorite things to do to this day), I passed. After sharing some of the things that she was going through now that she actually was a wife, there was nowhere for us to go. I still wasn’t in support and yet I’m no idiot — a person’s spouse needs to take priority over their friendships (some folks seem to forget/ignore that) and so there was no point in putting either one of us through “act two” of the drama and trauma.
Yet remember again what I said: we both were in a peace-filled place and that wasn’t the case when we initially “broke up” — and the only thing that really brought us there was us both holding ourselves accountable. The takeaway here is definitely don’t consider trying again with someone if you’re both not willing to own what brought you to the ending of your friendship in the first place. Why? Because if neither of you changed, what’s going to be different now? Straight up.
Let’s Go Back Over What “Reconcile” Means
GiphySo, what if, in your opinion, what led to the breakup is truly something that you can get past and both of you have been very open, honest, and candid about what y’all could’ve/should’ve done better? What next? Well, my recommendation would be to keep in mind that “there are layers to this thing” as far as reconciliation is concerned. What I mean by that is, that there are different definitions of the word and so, you need to decide what your goal is — and by that I mean, what actually would be best for you and them.
Reconcile: to cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired; to win over to friendliness; cause to become amicable; to compose or settle (a quarrel, dispute, etc.); to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent; to restore
Another friendship story — this time, it’s with a guy. After almost three decades of being close, a former friend of mine got a girlfriend; one who, after only a few weeks, decided that she should “pull rank” on our friendship…and chile, he allowed it. Suddenly, he was sneaking to talk to me on the phone or rushing off whenever she was around. He was basically treating me like a side chick which was weird as hell because our friendship had literally “survived” a fiancée and a wife (two different women) with no problems. The way he handled all of that, I lost so much respect for him that I ended the friendship.
The birthday following our break-up, he sent me some money and I asked him what his agenda was. He said that he wanted the friendship back, that his relationship was toxic and yet, he was still going to keep her in his life while trying to rebuild our friendship. Are you kidding me? To choose chaos is…chaotic. And so, the kind of reconciling that I decided to do with him was that first definition: get him to realize that we can’t be friends when he’s with a woman who moves like she does. We can be cool, but our intimacy is over. She’s unsafe which made him unsafe (for me) too (check out “Are You An Emotionally & Relationally Safe Person To Be Around? 6 Ways To Know.”).
Then there’s the type of reconciliation that I spoke about right before this. By talking everything out with “her,” we were able to get to an amicable place and position — and sometimes, that’s all that needs to happen because, as I oftentimes say, you get old (and mature) enough and you both realize and accept that there is a significant amount of space between “friend” and “enemy” — many relationships (or situations or interactions) fall somewhere in there.
And then there’s the kind of reconciliation that literally brings two people back together. That requires settling matters and then seeing if you can get back into some sort of holistic agreement so that the relationship can be restored — and that takes quite a bit of mutual time and effort.
That’s why, the next thing that I recommend is asking yourself what kind of reconciling you’re after: getting clarity on why things need to remain as they are; a conversation that can bring both of you into a state of peace, so that folks aren’t rolling eyes at the mall or being passive aggressive on social media? Or do you feel like there is enough to salvage to where you want to try to be friends again?
Now, let me just say that before you give (yourself) an answer, restoration is a bit of a layered word too:
Restore: to bring back into existence, use, or the like; reestablish; to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor; to put back to a former place, or to a former position, rank, etc.; to give back; make return or restitution of (anything taken away or lost)
Synonyms: bring back, build up, improve, reinstate, repair, revive, replace, rescue, strengthen
What these definitions amplify is if you’re thinking about restoring a friendship, you’ve got to ponder all of these definitions, so that you can know what it will require and entail. I mean, do you want to bring it back to where it was before? If so, why? Are you both willing to “make restitution” by making amends for what you both may have emotionally lost as a direct result of the break-up? Was your friendship even healthy to begin with? Because you can’t bring something “back to a healthy state” unless it was initially in one (and that’ll preach!).
Yeah, a part of the reason why I even wanted to tackle this topic is some folks think that “fixing a friendship” is simply a matter of saying that you did — oh, but it requires so much more work than that, chile. That’s why you’ve really got to be real with yourself about if it’s even worth it. Is it?
If Things Aren’t Going To Be Better Than Before, What’s the Point?
GiphyDid you notice how synonyms for restore included things like “improve” and even “replace”? When it comes to most of my broken friendships, while again, I have done my part to make sure that there is peace between us, I can’t really say that “getting back with them” would result in a better-than-before dynamic. For one thing, with some of the folks I was friends with, at the time when we became friends, I wasn’t even really friends with myself (check out “Self BFF: 7 Signs You're Your Own Best Friend”) and so I selected them from a broken and/or dysfunctional head and heart space. Others? Because they keep a victim mentality and refuse to take accountability for the breakdown, I simply don’t trust them or see the need to invest in them on a friendship level.
Listen, the folks who I consider to be my friends, they know that I’ve got them and then some and so, especially at this point and place in my life, if a person, place, thing, or idea isn’t going to make me a better person, I don’t see the point in bringing it/them into my intimate space. And definitely, if I’m going to put in the blood, sweat, and tears that are needed to restore a friendship, I’m going to need to see some indications that not only is it NOT going to be a sequel of what we already went through, but that we are BOTH going to do what’s needed for things to be so much better. Otherwise, again, what’s the point?
On repeat for the people in the back: If you’re going to reconcile, just for more of the same — and that was oftentimes stuff that wasn’t good — sis, what’s the point?
Implement a “Probationary” Period
GiphyIt’s pretty common that when someone first gets hired for a job, they are (usually) given a 90-day probationary period. The main point of that is to see if a new employee is truly a good fit for the job. Personally, when it comes to reconciling with a former friend, I think a similar practice should be limited. I mean, people can say anything — before going all in again, ease into things. Give it a few weeks to see if you both have healed, if growth has truly transpired, and if you still work, as friends, after all that has happened.
By not jumping totally in, that helps you to guard your heart, so that if one or both of you discover that either a friendship isn’t going to work or that it’s time to transition into a different kind of dynamic, feelings are spared and there’s not so much “spilled milk” to clean you. You can transition smoothly with fonder memories in tow.
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Should you reconcile with a friend? I’ll end this with a quote by civil rights activist John M. Perkins: “There is no reconciliation until you recognize the dignity of the other until you see their view — you have to enter into the pain of the people. You've got to feel their need.” If neither of you is at this place, while there may be a need for a conversation, a reconciliation may be premature…if necessary, at all.
Again, if you’re going to enter into phase two of a relationship with a former friend, it should be better than it was before. I hope all of this will help you to determine if that is indeed the case…or not.
Either way, your time, heart, and investments are precious. Reconciliation or not, for your own sake, please choose wisely.
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