Actress Zuri Adele on inclusivity in beauty and wellness industry
“Good Trouble” actress Zuri Adele talks about the importance of inclusivity and accessibility in the beauty and wellness space
Video Transcript
ZURI ADELE: If we love our curls, we love our locks, we love our deep brown skin, whatever that is, as long as we continue to lean into that without questioning it based on what society says or shows us, we will be on the right path.
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Hi. My name is Zuri Adele, and I am an actor, griot, and abolitionist.
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We can really encourage women to not feel so confined by eurocentric beauty standards when it comes to hair, in particular, by choosing to dive into and try all the hairstyles that make us feel so beautiful, confident, sexy, without questioning those instincts against or alongside eurocentric standards that we see in the media. So just continuing to trust ourselves and take good care of our hair and educate ourselves and learn and hire more people behind the scenes in the media who know how to take care of hair of all textures. I think that'll trickle into the world so that people watching will start to see themselves, ourselves as normalized and beautiful and as the standard.
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Representation is crucial in the wellness space because we create the atmosphere that makes us feel most safe. Whether we're choosing the music that ancestrally uplifts us or we're burning certain elements or we're even using references that will not be culturally triggering, when we have representation at the forefront of the teaching staff of these wellness spaces, we are ensuring that these wellness spaces are safe spaces for everyone.
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If we want to redefine wellness and go deeper than the face mask, I think that what we need to do is start with the breath. So in every present moment, we can always come back to our breathing, no matter where we are, take that breath in and be aware of that breath out. And you will find yourself right at the present moment. That is how we choose our wellness.
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To create more accessibility to wellness for communities who have been historically marginalized, we can lean into reparations and we can start to create avenues of wellness that people who may not be able to afford their wellness practices can still come and practice their wellness. We can start to think of other exchanges other than money, perhaps energy exchanges of sorts. We can create more access to teaching opportunities and leadership opportunities for those particular people so that students can start to see ourselves more at the head of the space in those wellness classes. I think the more teachers we have who look like us and who look like the world, the more of a safe space we create in those wellness spaces.
