Stepping into the light: Spelman student launches female empowerment brand

Nia Calhoun
Photo Courtesy Thosedelaluz.wordpress.com

It started as retaliation against the idea that female empowerment groups could not stand on their own. Today it has developed into a fashionably creative brand. De La Luz is an apparel line and a band of young women, founded and organized by Spelman College sophomore, Nia Calhoun.

De La Luz, meaning “those of the light,” is also a digital media boutique. Calhoun created the brand as a blog in January 2010.


 “I started blogging so people could see my thoughts," Calhoun said. “I eventually found out I was gifted with being visible on the web.”

De La Luz turned into a clothing line in February 2010. The brand is dedicated to encouraging young women to realize their natural tendency to shine and their ability to achieve their goals.

            
“We support each other as females in our endeavors. We uplift each other,” Calhoun said.

            
Calhoun reached out to her classmates for help when she created the brand. Sophomores Kayla Conti and Rachyl Wright are a part of the De La Luz team.

Fireworks
Photo Courtesy of thosedelaluz.wordpress.com

            
“I chose to work with people who are closest to me. Every time I see someone who is beautifully unique, I ask them to be a part of De La Luz,” Calhoun said.

            
Wright said she was excited about the opportunity to work with Calhoun on the De La Luz project.

            
“I always try to surround myself with people with a vision. I appreciate having friends that are creative. I try to get on board and be supportive,” Wright said. “I got involved however I could to support Nia.”

            
Conti said she functions as a business advisor and supporter for Calhoun and the brand.

            
“I’m here as a friend to offer my support whenever she needs help with painting, taking orders and folding up T-shirts. I became an unofficial public relations person. I give new ideas that can help boost the company and jump in whenever Nia needs me,” Conti said.

            
Calhoun said her biggest challenge is balancing the brand with her school work.

            
“I have to step back and realize that I am a student as well. God wanted me to start this brand. He didn’t give me this vision to sit on it,” Calhoun said. “Prayer and discipline get me through this challenge. Last year I was really involved on campus. I had to gracefully back out of those organizations to devote more time to the brand.”

            
Calhoun said her family is a major support system for her and her company.

            
“My family encourages me a lot more than other people. They made me sell out my T-shirts because they bought so many,” Calhoun said.

            
Calhoun’s friends and business partners support her as well.

           
“As a team we have to tell Nia to tell us what to do so we can help her with it. She is so creative. She wants to do everything. She has to remember to delegate tasks. That’s what we are here for,” Wright said. “We are a team and a family.”

            
Conti believes the biggest challenge the brand faces is the lack of finances and setting realistic goals.

            
“As students, we don’t have the financial backing most professional entrepreneurs have. We don’t have a big flow of money. We have to be realistic about the products and time we can spend,” Conti said.

            
Aside from the challenges, Wright has noticed changes in Calhoun and progress in the brand.

            
“A lot more people are starting to know what De La Luz is as a brand. Nia is becoming comfortable with what the brand is becoming. She is growing with the company,” Wright said. “She is stressing a little more because there are many things to accomplish, but she is doing very well with it.”

            
Calhoun has high hopes and limitless expectations for the future of De La Luz.

            
“I don’t like answering the question of what I would like my company to become years from now because I don’t put a limit on what God can do with it,” Calhoun said. “I want people to see the logo and know about it. I want it to be people’s favorite brand and to have longevity.”

To receive further information about De La Luz please visit the link below:

De La Luz

Race in Hurricane Katrina

I found it very interesting that this article focused on the stereotypical images of black people in the journalistic photo coverage of Hurricane Katrina, mainly because I have never perceived these images as such, until I read this article.After reading this article and taking a closer look at the images of Hurricane Katrina that were in the media, I noticed that white victims were rarely included. In majority cases, the victims in the images were black and were portrayed as poor and helpless, while white people occupied the roles of politicians and volunteers for the Red Cross. I was highly disturbed by the captions of the photos by the Associated Press and Getty Images described in the beginning of the article. Why was the black man captioned as "looting" and not "looking for food?" Most importantly, I wonder why the media outlets did not recognize this racial stereotype and change the caption of the black man to match that of the white victims. I was also surprised to know that the media is infamous for misrepresenting and poorly reporting disaster coverage. This news is disheartening, being that the media should function as the voice and representation of the people. However, it just goes to show that the media has abused its purpose in some cases.

Lipstick Leaded Out

Some environmental health groups are arguing that what one puts on his or her body is just as important as what one puts in it. Recent studies by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have reopened the conversation about the safety of lead content in cosmetic products, specifically in lipstick.

A 2007 study by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that 61 percent of the 33 brand name lipsticks tested contained lead at levels up to 0.65 parts per million. In 2009 the FDA discovered lead content ranging from 0.09 to 3.06 parts per million in the same brand name lipsticks tested in the study by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

However, the FDA does not consider the lead amounts found in the lipsticks to be hazardous.

“The FDA is just guessing the level of lead content in cosmetics is okay,” Communications Director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Stacy Malkan said.

The FDA limits the amount of lead approved for color additives in cosmetics to no more than 20 parts per million. The lead levels in the lipsticks tested in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the FDA study did not exceed this limit.

Health Communications Specialist for the Center for Disease Control, Jay Dempsey said higher levels of lead are more dangerous. However, any exposure to lead is unsafe.

Among the 33 brand name lipsticks tested in the FDA study, Cover Girl, Revlon and L’Oreal contained the largest amount of lead.

“There are certain brands of cosmetics that consistently had higher levels of lead than others. Companies can do a better job,” Malkan said. “We have called L’Oreal out as the worst lead offender. It is good to avoid L’Oreal until they clean up their products.”

The issue of lead in cosmetics derives from the concern for children’s health and lead exposure.

“Young children are the most vulnerable population to lead exposure because their bodies and brains are still developing. Lead exposure in children may be linked to irritability, brain damage or stunted development, depending on the amount of lead they are exposed to,” Dempsey said.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics suggests children are just as likely to be exposed to lead in cosmetics as adults are.

In a letter to Linda Katz, director of the Office of Cosmetics and Colors, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said, “Any mother of a young girl will tell you, it’s impossible to keep her daughter away from her lipstick.”

Adults can experience adverse effects from lead exposure as well. Pregnant women have been encouraged to avoid lead exposure because they may pass lead content on to their unborn children.

Lead is not solely present in cosmetic products. Lead can also be found in water pipes, paint and soil.

“The main source of lead is older paint that was around before 1978. Older homes may contain lead-based paint.  The lead can get into soil and dust as the paint chips,” Dempsey said. “Sometimes imported candies from Mexico, consumer products like toys and jewelry and traditional home remedies and cosmetics that are not commercially sold may contain lead as well.”

There are laws put in place to help ensure that personal care items and cosmetics are safe to use. However, under the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938 cosmetic products are not subject to premarket approval by the FDA, with the exception of color additives.

“People think it is not legal for companies to use harmful chemicals in their products. However, companies can put whatever they want in their products without any assessment,” Malkan said.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is currently working to gain more support for the reintroduction of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010, which was designed to give the FDA authority to ensure that personal care products are free of harmful ingredients and that all ingredients are fully disclosed.

Malkan said, “There is no way to know whether a product contains lead without sending it to a lab to be tested for $200. Lead is not listed on the label because companies are not required to list them. We need to get the FDA to set safety standards.”

For more information on lead content in cosmetics please visit the links below:

1) ABC Coverage Lead in Lipstick
2) Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
3) Letter to Office of Cosmetics and Colors
4) FDA Lead in Lipstick
5)FDA Study in Journal of Cosmetic Science

New Media

I would like to use images, audio clips and video clips as my new media outlets. I really liked how the audio interviews were used to tell the stories of the interviewees. I think it would be cool to create my own blog specifically for my beat in which I would use audio clips of my interviews and video slide shows to narrate my stories.

Girls Rock Camp Atlanta Kicks Off New Non Profit Status

Guitar melodies blended with fun and laughter yesterday as local musicians and community members gathered to support the free expression and positive development of youth. Girls Rock Camp Atlanta hosted the “Women Rock- A Benefit for Girls Rock Camp Atlanta” benefit concert at Five Spot Restaurant and Bar in Little Five Points. The concert featured performances by bluegrass band Roxie Watson and upcoming artist Hannah Thomas.

            Girls Rock Camp Atlanta co-founder and executive director Stacy Singer said all funds will go toward sustaining current Girls Rock programs and implementing more programming for underserved girls.

            “We are trying to increase our funding to increase our service. We are such a small, independent organization,” Singer said. “We don’t have our own facility. We want to raise money to have our own space to implement an after-school program.”

            Girls Rock Camp Atlanta is an annual summer camp for girls ages 10-16 that promotes positive self-esteem and encourages freedom of expression through musical mediums.

            The camp hosts workshops on body image, identity and self defense. In addition, participants are instructed in guitar, keyboard, drums and vocals. The last day of camp, participants host a musical showcase for the public.

            “We are looking to partner with other organizations to bring the Girls Rock experience to girls who cannot get to the camp,” Singer said. “We are partnering with the International Rescue Committee this summer to provide some of their girls the Girls Rock experience at no cost.”

            Girls Rock Camp Atlanta has also collaborated with Girls, Inc. and Cool Girls, Inc.

            Singer said it is important that Girls Rock Camp Atlanta reach out to other organizations to provide more girls the Girls Rock experience at little to no cost.

            Girls Rock Camp Atlanta receives the majority of its funding from the tuition payments received from its participants.

             “With tuition being our biggest income source, it prioritizes girls whose family can afford to send them to rock camp,” Singer said. “That has to change. One third of our income should come from grants, one third from personal donations and one third from tuition. Our goal is to serve everybody, not just the girls who can afford to come to the camp.”

            Girls Rock Camp Atlanta received non-profit status in September 2010.

            “The language the IRS uses is challenging for people without a legal background. We could not hire a non-profit lawyer. We had to use the lawyer on our board of directors,” Singer said. “It took months to put paperwork together. But we did it. We persevered.”

            Girls Rock Camp Atlanta was organized in 2007.

            “I felt called to do the work. I worked in the Atlanta music industry for a while and wasn’t challenged by the work anymore,” Singer said. “I volunteered at rock camp in Tennessee and realized we needed a program in our own town.”

            The first Girls Rock Camp Atlanta was held in 2008.

            “It just keeps getting better and better every year. The first summer we had 24 campers. This year we will have a little more than twice as many,” Singer said.

            Girls Rock Camp Atlanta usually requests volunteers and performers. However, the Jazz Foundation of America volunteered Beverly “Guitar” Watkins to perform at the camp this summer.

            “This is an amazing opportunity for us to have this person who is so unique and special to come and play for us,” Singer said. “We see the work we are doing being recognized by other people. It is such an honor.”

            Singer believes Girls Rock Camp Atlanta has made significant progress since its founding.

            Singer said, “Thus far, we’ve achieved everything at a pace that is right for us. We will hopefully continue to achieve our goals at a pace that is right for us.”