Today we’d like to introduce you to Lavoughnda White.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Nah I’m Just Pretty is a social enterprise company that combats colorism through education, mobilization, and advocacy efforts. My journey dealing with and navigating colorism started at a very young age. I fell victim to the dark-skinned jokes from family members, to kids at school and eventually seen how the world has a disdain for darker skinned induvial. I eventually internalized that started to self-hate myself which lead to thoughts of wanting to bleach my skin, not wear light colors, and “shrunk” myself to not be seen.
During my late 20’s, I was living in DC going to work and minding my business. I was getting off the bus and a man yelled at me “you’re pretty to be dark skinned” and my response was Nah I’m Just Pretty. That moment pushed me to start to do my own research because I felt like this feeling wasn’t isolated to only me. I came across a word called colorism and begin to educate myself on it and gave birth to my business Nah I’m Just Pretty. My goals is to provide a safe space for dark skinned people to be heard, to be seen, and to heal. We provide affirming and uplifting apparel that combats colorism and offer authentic merchandise sourced directly from Cape Town, South Africa. Revenue from our business will be utilized to fund our different organizing initiatives.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Unfortunately, combating colorism is not an EASY task lol and we faced many struggles. To name a few we’re often censored on social media when we try to run ads to help reach a larger audience. We recently received a grant opportunity to run a commercial ad on cable and they rejected our commercial saying that colorism is a “social political” issue and if we wanted to use that particular video, we would have to go through the same measures that politicians go through to have paid advertising running on television. Although this was a bit frustrating when it happened, we learned the importance of being able to pivot and keep our eyes focused on the mission and not our feelings.
I also still work full time, and just graduated from graduate school in 2020 with my MBA. There were times during graduate school that I became very overwhelmed and almost quit my business. It’s hard trying to navigate being a full time employee and entrepreneur on the side because there are only 24 hours in the day.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Currently, I work for as a Community Development Project Manager for the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. My work focuses on providing support to local elected officials, businesses, stakeholders, and residents with advancing their cities/neighborhoods from an economic development lends. Prior to working with SLEDP, I’ve worked in political/ union organizing, education (second grade teacher) and within the nonprofit sector.
I would like to think that I’m known for my dedication and commitment to having a positive impact on youth and within my community. To that point, one of my accomplishments that I’m proud to highlight is that I started a nonprofit alongside my best friend at the age of 23 years old called HYPE-Helping Young People Evolve. HYPE was a performance-based nonprofit that was focused on social emotional development and utilized the art of Mime Dance to help our young leaders navigate and process their emotions. We also developed a Positive Decision-Making curriculum that reinforced positive social emotional development throughout everyday life.
I studied abroad in 2019 for my graduate degree and my company was fortunate enough to make a business connection in Cape Town, South Africa. We now offer authentic, handmade merchandise under our #madeinsouthafrica collection and have expanded to jewelry as well. I’m also proud that we were featured in Forbes this year and have a commercial running locally on Spectrum. This is the type of exposure we need to continue to elevate our mission which is simply to help combat colorism.
What sets me apart is that I’ve always lived my life being in service to others and I’ve taken that same motto and embedded it throughout my business. We’re a social enterprise company so our mission is not only to drive profit, but to drive and create social impact locally and nationally. I’ve also lived the same experiences in which I’m working toward eradicating as well. I’m a people over profit type of person and will keep this mentality as our company continues to grow.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson that I’ve learned thus far in my journey is the importance and ability to pivot when necessary. As business owners, we plan and strategize to maximize or time and profit. However, it’s imperative that we know when to pivot on an idea, concept, or strategy for the greater good of the mission. It’s perfectly ok to be innovative with your approach when it comes to getting the brand message out into the world. Commit to being a good listener and not defensive when having to make those small changes.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@nahimjustpretty.com
- Website: https://nahimjustpretty.com/
- Instagram: nahimjustpretty
- Facebook: nahimjustpretty
- Twitter: nahimjustpretty
Image Credits
Joseph Stegall
