Simply Sámone teamed up with Iowa State’s Womxn of Colour Network to host an interactive workshop to educate and encourage women of color. 

This event was hosted by 19-year-old CEO and founder of Simply Sámone LLC,  Jassma’ray Johnson. Johnson is an Iowa State student who double majors in psychology and communications with a minor in African American studies. Her cosmetic line produces homemade, vegan, organic lip products.

“My brand’s goal is to inspire, uplift and encourage while teaching people to be unapologetically beautiful in their own skin,” Johnson said.

“For Coloured Girls Workshop” began with introductions from everyone followed by a series of icebreakers. The women were challenged to be outside their comfort zone by being placed in pairs with a stranger. They were told to write observations they made about each other followed by two minutes of looking into their partners eyes. 

The Womxn of Colour Network Public Relations Chair Dominiqua Watts hoped this workshop would reach a larger community and provide a space for girls and students to speak out and to build and bridge gaps.  

“It shows, hey, we are going through the same thing, let’s team up, let’s be bigger and better, together,” Watts said. 

The workshop gave a space for women of color to have conversations about race, feminism, self-love and empowerment. Women discussed the differences between feminism and womanism and made encouragements to empower other women.  

“There is nothing wrong with simply celebrating Black women,” Johnson said.

Audience members were encouraged to write down both negative and positive things they have been told in their life and were guided in a positive affirmation activity. 

“I created this workshop because it’s a reflection of my brain, I want people to know that I don’t just make products, it’s not about just making money,” Johnson said. “…It’s teaching people how to love themselves in a way that they have never loved themselves before.”

This space allowed audience members to speak out about their past experiences as women of color from childhood to adulthood and discuss what to do in the future to promote change.

“Even if we know something is wrong, we don’t say anything, and I think it’s important for us to be that catalyst,” Jalesha Johnson said. “…We all have to take it upon ourselves to start doing the work internally but also externally expressing those things.”

Jassma’ray Johnson wanted to use this workshop to establish good relationships, build connections and break down barriers.

“I partnered with Womxn of Colour because oftentimes, women in general, let alone women of color and Black women, we don’t get those opportunities, we’re always ignored, we don’t know how to love ourselves, and so I wanted to create that safe space and to get people on campus here in order to have those tough conversations and to figure out different ways that they can start moving in the world.”

Womxn of Colour Network can be found on Instagram @isuwocn and Simply Sámone can be found @simply.samone_.