Celebrating Black History at its roots

Guadeloupe, February 20, 2012 – Le Mois de l’Afrique (MDA) invited Mireille Liong-A-Kong founder of going-natural.com for a presentation and a workshop as part of their Black History Month celebration. In the nine years since its existence, MDA, the Caribbean island’s commemoration of Black History Month, has become one of biggest tourist events in the area with intellectual and cultural events throughout the month of February.

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Going Natural goes Guadeloupe!
Celebrating Black History at its roots

Guadeloupe, February 20, 2012 – Le Mois de l’Afrique (MDA) invited Mireille Liong-A-Kong founder of going-natural.com for a presentation and a workshop as part of their Black History Month celebration. In the nine years since its existence, MDA, the Caribbean island’s commemoration of Black History Month, has become one of biggest tourist events in the area with intellectual and cultural events throughout the month of February.

The invitation shows that the history of Black people is not limited by borders but rather connected at it’s roots. And in this case even literally says Liong-A-Kong, humbled by the invite. The Social Entrepreneur continues “Black women all over the world are dealing with the same issues that stem from stigmatizing African hair the moment Black people were taken to the western world.”

Liong’s goal is to change this negative perception by promoting the beauty of natural hair. Her book Going Natural, How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair has been a top seller for years and going-natural.com has become a leading web and social networking site dedicated to natural hair with over 25.000 members.

With their annual online pageant, America’s Next Natural Model, still going on, going-natural.com brings the global connection to life with a few special challenges. After shooting for the sponsoring companies Iman Cosmetics, Beauloni and Kynx Hair care, the remaining contestants will compete to stay in the competition by shooting in handmade traditional Maroon garments from Suriname.

The American models will now not only be judged by the 25.000 members the social community counts but also by a live Guadeloupe audience and special judge Fidelia Graand-Galon. She is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Rep.of Suriname to Trinidad & Tobag and the first maroon to ever hold such a position.

Besides celebrating the global connection, I also like to honor the brave Maroon women who hardly receive credit for their contribution to our rich history, says Liong a Suriname native. They were instrumental in leaving the plantations and building communities far from the cruel slave masters and deep in the rural areas.
Yet, I learned about Ma Pansa from “Tenderheaded” an American Hair book by Juliette Harris and Ntozake Shange. Ma Pansa was a Suriname Maroon who hid seeds in her hair so that her people would have food no matter where they would land. I can’t think of a better example to celebrate the global connection of Black History at its roots.