Thursday, March 13, 2014

Adeea Rogers, Founder of International Natural Hair Meetup Day



NHH: Tell us about yourself and what you've been up to. 
Adeea: My name is Adeea Rogers. I am known online as The Trendy Socialite. I was born, raised and still reside in Greenville, North Carolina--home of the East Carolina University Pirates (aaarrrgggh!). I am currently employed at East Carolina University as the social media manager for the Department of Student Involvement and Leadership. Prior to that, I was an event planner for 14 years. After 5, I have a website and YouTube channel dedicated to natural hair, beauty and fashion. I also help equip and empower people to pursue their passions with purpose and power through my online group iGrind Naturally. I hold events in North Carolina and beyond including The Mane Ingredient Dinner for my fellow naturalistas and iGrind Coffee Chats where people can network and receive help with their brands. In 2012, I created and founded, National Natural Hair Meeup Day. Later that same year it changed to International Natural Hair Meetup Day.I wish I could say I had a "Damascus Road" experience when it came to returning to natural hair. But it boiled down to sheer curiosity as to what my texture was and what it would look like. I was in an online hair group; because after wearing short hair for 10 years, I decided to grow my hair. One of the practices in the group was to "stretch your relaxers." Through my interaction with the group, I noticed a lot of people in the group transitioning and going natural. I spent the better part of 2008 looking at and researching natural hair. At that time, the pickings were slim online. I got my last relaxer on December 16, 2008. I transitioned for 6 months and did the big chop on June 26, 2009. I think I shocked everyone but myself.I actually started recording YouTube videos before I went natural, but was never consistent with it. When I started posting pictures on FaceBook, friends began asking questions and encouraging me to share my journey online. Plus at the time I started, there were literally only a handful of YouTube vloggers and very few with my 4ish hair texture. So I started recording videos, and the rest is history!

Social media information for Adeea:
INSTAGRAM: @trendysocialite

NHH: In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception about natural hair and how do you suggest we as a community work to change it?

Adeea: In my opinion, one of the biggest misconceptions is that natural hair is not professional. In my workshop, Natural Hair in the Workplace, I share with people that you do not have to straighten your hair in order for it to appear and be professional. One suggestion is that each of us help fellow naturalistas find appropriate hairstyles for their profession, situation or occasion. What I see online, when people post questions about how to wear their natural hair to work, is people (with great intentions) telling others to wear their hair however they choose. But by offering them a few suggestions, that will actually give them viable solutions to their question or challenge.

NHH: Why did you start INHMD and what message did you want to convey when you created this annual celebration of natural hair?
Adeea: The concept of International Natural Hair Meetup Day (INHMD) began after attending the World Natural Hair Show in Atlanta in 2011. I came back to my city of Greenville, NC and started hosting events in my area. As I started doing that, I began to connect with other people and hosts in different parts of the country, especially the Midwest and West Coast. In our conversations, a lot of them stated that they wish they could have an event with the infectious feel of the World Natural Hair Show without having to travel quite so far. That started my wheels turning to find a way for people to have the "feel" of large scale event like the World Natural Hair Show within relatively close proximity to their own communities. Secondly, yet equally as important to me, coming from a "smaller market" like Greenville, I wanted brands and the community at large to know that the natural hair community is not relegated to pockets of large metropolitan areas. But there are thriving, vibrant natural hair groups and communities across the country (and now the world).

NHH: What can naturals look forward to experiencing when attending an INHMD event in their city?
Adeea: The types of events vary from city to city--which is one thing I love about INHMD. We have events from indoor/outdoor festivals and expos to dinners to fashion shows. But the things they can be assured of is an excellent event with information and inspiration to help them on their natural hair care journey. This year I am also super excited that Koils by Nature is our Title Sponsor. Pamela Jenkins, its creator, has been a host and sponsor since INHMD began in 2012. She brings a level of enthusiasm, professionalism and skill to our event that will cause us to expand our reach this year.

NHH: How can readers find out more about INMHD and locate an event in their city?

Adeea: Readers can connect with us online at our website, http://www.inhmd.com. Event information will begin to appear on our site in the next few days. On the homepage, they can enter their state in our search box and find the events in their area. Cities are chosen based on their being interested event hosts in that area. We also highly encourage people to receive up to the minute information by connecting with us on Twitter (@inhmd), Instagram (@inhmd), FaceBook (http://www.facebook.com/nnhmd) and Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/inhmd). We release events as they are added to our website via those social media platforms.

Adeea R. Rogers
"The Trendy Socialite"
Creator, Founder and Chief Operating Officer
International Natural Hair Meetup Day
#1 Multi-City Natural Hair Meetup in the World!
May 17, 2014
http://www.inhmd.com
https://www.facebook.com/nnhmd
http://www.twitter.com/inhmd
http://www.pinterest.com/inhmd
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2 comments:

  1. nappy headed black girlMarch 17, 2014 at 12:12 PM

    I'm excited about this year's INHMD. I missed it last year. I think it's fabulous that this event has caught on so quickly and been welcomed by so many.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownMarch 18, 2014 at 2:42 PM

      We're excited too and not just because we're a media sponsor. Which event do you plan to attend?

      Delete

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