Earlier this year, Linda Chavers, writer for Elle Magazine wrote an article addressing her problem with #BlackGirlMagic. This sparked a sea of retweets and think pieces countering Chavers opinion, most notably, Demetria Lucas D’Oyley, a contributor of The Root. Black Girl Magic celebrates black women affirmation of each other’s worth and beauty. It’s an empowerment term, that recognizes all things magical in black women. Earlier last month, I was able to interview Lindsey Day, Editor in Charge and Co-Founder of Crwn Magazine. Crwn Magazine, is a self-published magazine dedicated to natural hair.
During my interview with Lindsey, I got to ask her what was her inspiration to produce Crwn Mag? She expressed that both her and her partner, Nkrumah Farrar, noticed that there was a lack of representation for women of color. She stated, “people like herself, family, and friends, were left out of the mainstream conversation.” A quote that she explained stuck with her, while creating Crwn, was “you can’t be what you can’t see.” It would be these feelings of needing to showcase the diversity of women of color, especially pertaining to the natural hair movement, that helped blossom the idea for producing Crwn Magazine. Lindsey, expressed that Crwn’s purpose is to aide in the awakening and shift of black women embracing their natural hair. She knew there was a need for a platform that could help newly transitioning and newly naturals with figuring out how to handle their hair; hence the significance with name of the magazine being named Crwn. When I asked her about, why name the magazine Crwn? She promptly quipped the old saying in most black communities, “your hair is your crown. It’s something that everyone sees when they see you; for most women, if your hair is not on point, it does dictate how you feel most of the day.” I totally agree with her, as a black woman, when my twist out decides not to cooperate or my edges aren’t laying as slick as they were when I left for work, I definitely feel self-conscious. Lindsey, also explained that there are a lot of external pressures placed on black women and their hair; constantly we are told, she expresses, that our hair in its natural state is not presentable enough. Crwn Magazine, helps black women to tap into that inner source of power they feel, both internally and externally. Crwn content consists of a variety of natural hair lifestyle pieces. It’s main points are focusing on keeping the hair healthy and promoting self-love, regardless of how you rock it. Crwn showcases different hair trends in entertainment, fashion, lifestyle, and think pieces, all of which are dedicated to loving your hair and ways to rock it.
Lindsey says she has a lot of aspirations for the magazine in the next five years. Namely, her mission is to have the magazine seen as a visual tool that showcases an impact on our culture, especially in relation to black women. Lindsey even mentions that she would hope Crwn invites the dialogue of promoting showcasing diversity and self-love of ones differences to become a global conversation. This sounds similar to the Unfair And Lovely campaign that embraces darker skin tones. Before I ended the interview, I asked Lindsey, what advice would she give someone who wants to start their own publication catered to a certain group and what challenges they could face when embarking on such a task? Her best advice was the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.” She went on to say that “no one is going to give you permission, you just have to do it. Ignore the naysayers and follow your instincts” Also, she stated “be smart about your movement, but stay true to your judgement and know yourself.” She moved on to say that, when embarking on something new, like creating your own publication, one should “observe the culture, become an expert on it.” Crwn, she mentioned was in many ways a case study in its early stages. She said that in order for Crwn to blossom into something major, she had to know her customer. She had to test her assumptions and know who these people were that she was marketing towards. Lindsay explains, “people want to be served. Know who you are speaking to, how to catch their eye and how it could add value to that person’s life.”
Crwn magazine will surely help to dismantle the narrow depictions placed on the female black community, especially in relation to our hair. If there were awards given to black women who effectively showcase, Black Girl Magic, Lindey Day would surely be given an award.
