I've been reading Essence since I was in high school. I've always looked to the magazine to share stories from my sisters and promote images of Black women that I can be proud of. As I've gotten older, the magazine has been going through some changes and not for the better. I've watch the magazine shrink and its material become fluffy. I've tried be hopeful but I keep getting disappointed. A few day ago, Essence magazine began promoting a natural hair chat. I was actually excited although Essence's natural hair track record has been a bit spotty lately. I figured this chat could give the magazine some much need insight and help them be able to give better advice. The excitement transformed into elation when I head that Chrisette Michele, a new natural and one of my favorite singers, would be participating in the chat. I set a reminder and watched the clock the day of the chat to ensure that I wouldn't miss anything.When the chat began, my elation and excitement turned into confusion and irritation. There was blatant product pushing and spotty advice. One of panelists didn't know what sister locks were. I could have gotten past that if I had actually been able to chat. The chat application they used allowed them to be able to pick and choose which comments they would allow on the board. Consequently, barely any of the non-panelists could get a comment posted. Questions that actually went through were mostly ignored. Chrisette was the only one that seemed to acknowledge our presence.We basically watched the "experts" talk. I was heated and so were many of my sisters. After all, we were under the impression that we would be able to exchange ideas with the panelists rather than watching them circle jerk each other. Chrisette stans, like myself, thought we might be able to talk and fellowship with her. Bottom line, the chat was an uber FAIL. So I decided to host a chat of my own on Monday evening from about 7pm-8:30pm. I want to show Essence what a REAL natural hair chat is supposed to look like. Spread the word.
