Oscar award winning actress Lupita Nyongo showed her support for 11 year old entreprenuer, Kheris Rogers, when she posted an Instagram picture of herself wearing a T shirt with the words ‘Flexin in My Complexion’.
“I see you, I feel you, I support you, @kherispoppin! And I love my shirt! #FlexinInMyComplexion #WCWthe young entrepreneur #KherisRogers, beautiful by ANY STANDARDS.#LoveTheSkinYouAreIn To buy the shirt, visit her page.”
Kheris was inspired to start the clothing line after getting bullied about her dark skin in elementary school. She has since gotten shout outs from artists like Alicia Keys and gone on to showcase her line on fashion shows such as the New York Fashion Week where she debuted as the youngest designer ever.
Kheris rocking her T-shirt line
Kheris was bullied so much that at one point her mother opted to transfer her to a new school that was more racially diverse but the bullying did not end there. She would come home and tell her mother all the mean and hurtful things her fellow students would call her.
One day her sister tweeted a picture of Kheris beautifully styled for a Wiz inspired fashion show with the words: “My sister is only 10 and she’s already royalty #flexininmycomplexion”. The tweet went viral getting over 80,000 shares with people commenting on how beautiful her skin tone was. Kheris felt encouraged and with the help of her mother and sister started a twitter account celebrating self love and, the T shirt line ‘Flexin My Complexion’ to combat colourism and encourage girls to feel comfortable in their own skin no matter the tone.
Lupita does indeed feel a kinship to the young entreprenuer, during her speech at the Black Women in Hollywood luncheon in 2014, Lupita recalled how seeing Alek Wek on the world stage made her appreciate her dark skin and gave her an understanding of why representation matters. She concluded her speech by saying:
“And so I hope that my presence on your screens and in the magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside, that there is no shade in that beauty.”
When did you learn to appreciate your skin tone? Leave a comment below 🙂
But she is gorgeous!! Also i want that t-shirt.
We (Kenyans) also have a colourism problem.Just less pronounced than in the states. There are still women daily, going to shops in downtonwn Nairobi to source bleaching creams and lotions. Its absolutely sad…and i wonder, where did we go so wrong? I grew up with chocolate skin and my mother has that ‘yellow yellow’ skin Kenyans are so obsessed with (more aptly known as rangi ya thao). I remember multiple times in my childhood being asked ‘why aren’t you pretty like your mum?’. It absolutely tore me and took nearly a decade to build up my self-esteem, which was below zero. Now im in my twenties and embracing whatever shade i came in and embracing that beauty, i may not look like her but i know i am beautiful in my own way!!
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Sorry you had to go though that growing up, I think people need to be sensitised about colourism and the words we tend to use so casually. It’s a pet topic of mine because I think it is so insidious yet so damaging especially for young women and girls. Learning to appreciate you own beauty is truly a win, I just read this today and loved it! Body shaming, yet another topic to explore. http://www.ebony.com/life/plus-size-model-lesego-legobane-claps-back-misogyny#axzz4tFsiSFmj
Thank you! off to read it just now. Me too, it is a topic i visit and revisit and never get tired.