“Don’t blame nobody else for your fuckups. If shit didn’t go right in your life, don’t blame nobody else for that. Shit happens for a reason. I didn’t have the best childhood but I’m not blaming nobody. I was raised by my granny and I didn’t blame my mom for not being able to raise me. Shit happens. For real, it didn’t hinder me. For some people, it hinders them, but it made me stronger. It made me not want to put my kids through that shit.” - Black, Parkland

“In the summer, I like swimming in the pool, playing in water, and writing in chalk.”- George (far right) pictured with Noodles & Jordan, Algonquin

“I made me a video on Facebook, giving a shoutout to deadbeat fathers. I don’t like the fact that these fathers are out here, not trying to take care of their kids. We also got the mothers out here, not taking care of their kids, too. That’s basically what I’m going through, now. I’m fed up with it. I’m only 21 and my son’s 4. He came when I was 17years old, 6 days after my 17th birthday. Me, being a parent and not knowing my real father, I just don’t like parents that don’t do anything for their kids. I don’t even talk to people who don’t take care of their kids.

I’m just looking forward to Lil Pierre just being here and me actually being able to do for him. I don’t have nobody else but him, so why not do what I can to take care of him, so his life can be better than mine. That’s just where my mind is.” - Pierre and Lil Pierre, Portland

“I ain’t gonna say that I was ready to be father but as soon as I found out, I was ready. There was no way around it. She told me that she was pregnant and I knew what I had to do. I had to stop certain things and do more of other things. I had to go 100%. I was going 50% at first, so I had to turn it up. Becoming a father and knowing that you have a seed that’s a product of you really changed my whole life.

My advice to any parent is that if you’re not in your kid’s life, it’s never too late to get in their life. One thing about children is that they never forget, they always remember. The world is messed up and it’s too much going on for parents not to be in their kid’s life. So, whatever you did in the past, that kept you from being in your child’s life, today’s a good time to get involved. It’s important because they are the future.” - Hurraseason (Far Right) pictured with his children, nephew, and Reason (Far Left) in Chickasaw

“Seeing my son move around, breathe,be healthy, safe, and protected brings me joy. I get to watch him be his own man. Being a father changed my life. It made me step up my grind mode because there’s a lot of responsibilities. He ain’t the only one.

My advice to young fathers is to just do what you can for your kids. Just do it. Do whatever you can do for them. Even if it’s a pack of diapers every week. Do something for your kids to help them out and show them a different route. Some won’t do shit and be getting off. You gotta do something. You have to be there for the young black boys. They need their fathers in their life. Actually, I feel like every black child, in this day and age, definitely needs their father. For real, without their father, he might be hit up. It’s fucked up out here.” - Wing pictured with his son, Tristan in California

“This is a random thing, man. I had a couple of roses at my crib and I decided to just give them to some random chick. So, I’m just walking down the street or whatever because I don’t want them to go to waste. It ain’t nothing like that, though. I’m on my way to work, so I’m just trying to give these to someone.

I’m from the East End. My parents are from here but this is my first year living in the West End. I don’t really know too much about it but from what I know, it’s pretty peaceful over here. If you go further that way, it may be a little reckless. 

The West needs more unity. People don't realize that when blacks are killing blacks, we’re just killing ourselves. We’re kings and queens and we’re supposed to be doing something great. I think that if we come together we’ll be alright. I get tired of hearing that people I grew up with are getting killed. That’s the main thing that I think it is. People need to stop hating one another and come together. We all live in the same world.

Life’s short, bro. If you think about it, I graduated high school in 2012 and it’s already 2018. I’m about to be 25 this year. That’s the quickest timespan I ever seen in my life. Life’s short. The average black male, especially in Louisville, don’t even make it to 30. Why be mad at something silly when you can be celebrating how hot it is? You know what I’m saying? Me, personally, it’s women out here. I’m not trying to die early, over something stupid. Knowing that life’s too short motivates me. Live your life to the fullest. 

Love one another. When I was growing up in Clarksdale, me and my friends would fight, like it wasn’t nothing. We would fight but the next day, we would leave it in the past. We were kids, man. Leave it in the past and love one another. The world ain’t always sunshine and rainbows, but at the same time, that’s what the world is made of. Why not love one another and see people smile?” - Mike, Chickasaw

"I gotta lot of friends and family that are down here. All the people in Portland are close together. It’s a good community for friends and family.” - Maranda pictured with Baby J & Damon, Portland

“Shit’s crazy. A lot of people are dying. People are shootin kids for no reason. My mama’s stressin’, she’s got cancer. You feel me? We gotta change some shit around. There’s a lot of kids dying out here. Kids need to change their lives around. You feel me? You need to get your life together. There’s so much that these kids that are my age, and I’m 17,  could be doing out here. There’s a lot of kids that want to be hood. Some of them aren’t made for that. It’s just a lot of kids that want to be like other people.

People can work and get paid and get them a car or something like that. That’s what I’m trying to do. I gotta get my life right.  There ain’t nothing out here but drama. I’m trying to change my people around. You feel me? We out here, trying to get life together. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to anybody.  Everybody’s doing too much. It’s too many beautiful people out here to be trying to kill somebody. Life is just too short.

Shit, my mama got cancer and I’m trying to do this for her. I'm doing this shit for my mama because I know it’s almost time. As long as I can help her and be there for my brothers and sisters, I know my mama will be proud of her son. 

The West End needs more people involved. It’s too many kids, who be sitting around out here and not doing shit. They just be walking around, trying to find a dollar. I feel like if more people come around and just help the people who need the help, we’ll make it. We just need people to show love.” - Tajean, Russell

“I got shot in the mouth when I was 22 and it didn’t slow me down. When I was 25, I went to the penitentiary. I sat down there for 5 1/2 years. It was a mental battle, in itself, to correct what I was doing wrong. It took for me to know that I needed to correct it. I needed to correct the people, places, and things that was around me and start doing stuff that was foreign and uncommon to me. I’ve been out for almost 5 years. I just been working, man. I’ve been working everyday. My uncle had this open and they had to shut it down, so they wouldn’t take no loss. That was smart. They made their money back and shut it down. I gotta store behind my barber shop and we got to cooking lil burgers and stuff. In 2-3 weeks, it was lines out the door! My vision was to get that spot and then get this in August. God’s plan was to get that spot, settle down, do what’s right by your wife and I’ll put you in a position to win. That’s just what happened. I opened up the store. I opened this up, the day before Derby. If that ain’t a testimony in itself. Then, I grew up on this street, my mama lives down the street.

With this, I had a whole lot of help. I didn’t have to do nothing but come in here and turn on the switch. That’s all I had to do. I feel like I have some good people that’s backing me and they ain’t hurting for no money. They’ve been doing this all they life. You know, they’ve been building up houses and selling them. They go to auctions and buy to resell. That’s all they do is go to the market and trade.

I like to dress. I was buying clothes and stuff and then I was watching one of my guys. He’s my uncle’s friend and I’ve been around him for 3 years and it just hit me. The whole time I’ve been around him, he wore the same thing. He don’t spend his money on unnecessary stuff. He wears Wranglers, a plaid shirt and some Red Wing boots. He works everyday. I realized that you don’t have to be fly to work. You’ll mess it up. So, I went to Sam’s and got me a $9 shirt. I went to Walmart and got me a pair of $13 Wranglers. I wear it, take it home, wash it  and put it back on. All of my buddies will come in and see me in a collared shirt. It’s foreign to them to see me telling people to enjoy and have a nice day.

The whole character done changed. I’m telling them that they need to get a job and if they don’t get a job, they’ll go to jail. You don’t want to go back. If you get caught now, you won’t get out until you’re 50 and you don’t want to do that. You already gave them half of your life. Man, it’s time to build. My focus is just building with my wife. Right now, I’m going through erasing pictures from my Instagram. I have to sit down and erase about 20-40 pictures at a time. I have to erase all of that before this gets too big. I want to tell people about my background, not show them pictures. A picture speaks a thousand words and if I’m telling you, I’m only going to speak a couple hundred. I want to tell you.

My kids inspire me. I don’t want to lead them down the same road I was lead down. They are my daily inspiration. When I wake up and come to work, it’s to provide for my children. My family, that’s all I got. My kids and my wife are my fuel. Once my kids are old enough to take over, I’ll be able to take a break. My goal is just to keep my kids on a straight path and build a legacy.

When I was younger, I would sit out there, in these streets, and played around. I involved myself in gang activity. Been there and done that but look at me, now! Yeah, I was in a gang. Yeah, I committed some crimes. The correctional facilities that I was incarcerated in, corrected me. Now, that I’m corrected, I come back to society but as a taxpayer and a business owner. Yeah, I’m still a black man with a mouth full of golds but don’t judge a book by it’s cover. There’s a lifetime full of knowledge up here.

The West End is about to revert back to what it once was. It used to be predominantly white. Now, as you can see they’re tearing down Beecher and all of the projects and sending people out south. They’re building new out here that’ll bring them back down. They’ll give you your section 8 and you’re out of the West End. It’s set up for you to run out of the West End because the West End is the most valuable property, it’s historic.

You have to get the black owners to come together. If you don’t notice, the Asians and Caucasians got a liquor store and a Dollar General on every corner. All these places for black people to spend their money. You don’t even have a skating rink and movie theater.

Stay humble and stay grounded. If you step on one pebble, it’ll knock you off balance. You’ll be back where you came from. The moral of the story is to stay humble out here because at any given day, you’re number can be called. You’ve got to stay focused, humbled, and grounded. As long as you’re focused, you have a vision. As long as you’re humble, people won’t mess with you. As long as you’re grounded, all 3 will combine and work. It works if you work it.” - Tony, Owner of Irma Dee's  in Parkland

“I grew up around Cecil. Everything was good, growing up in the West. As I got older, I seen the difference. I seen how society can really hold people of color behind. It’s kind of hard, going through the motions in life, when you got things setting you back, such as the police. It’s not even just the police, you have people that don’t live in the West, looking in and thinking that everything’s bad. They have no idea what’s going on. Me and you are having an intelligent conversation and nothing is going on. Nobody’s coming through shooting at us. Now, it’s days when shootings do happen. We have to deal with the police coming to harass us, rather than protect us. They don’t want to protect us, so we’re just out here, trying to survive.

I’m very self motivated but my family keeps me motivated. My mom is my biggest support system. She makes sure that I stay out of the streets and stay focused. She keeps me on my p’s and q’s every day. 

The West needs more community centers because that’ll give the kids something to do. Growing up, we didn’t have any community centers. We had Parkland Boys & Girls Club but I would have to walk all the way to 32nd and that’s far from my house. There’s nothing in the neighborhood for kids to go to or do anything productive. They have to find something to because they’re bored, so they choose trouble.

We need closer health clinics because everybody doesn’t have the transportation and they may not be able to get to the clinic. Everybody doesn’t have the money for the clinic. We could also use some role models because kids are looking up to the wrong people. They’re thinking that the fast life is the life to live but it’s not.

Don’t get caught up in other people’s ways. Be your own person. Make sure you follow what you believe. You should be good, if your intentions are good.” - Will, Chickasaw

“I stay within walking distance. I can walk back and forth to the garden. I’ve been in the West End since 1970. In the 70’s, I lived right off of Broadway. There was a lot of factories in the 70’s. As the factories left, throughout the years, the people did, too. The West End is a nice location. The people and my church have kept me in this area. It’s pretty much a well-knit group. Where I live, everybody knows everybody. It’s a lot of potential, here, if people just gave it a chance and stayed in their area, instead of leaving. I’d like to see a lot more black businesses in the West End and keep the money circulating to build up the community.

A lot of hard work went into this garden. It’s a community garden. Gardening was something that was handed down. My mother’s from Mississippi. She handed gardening down to us. We had a garden every year. She grew peanuts. I grow peanuts, in memory of her.

The happiest moments of my life was spending the last 6 months with my mother before she passed. You know, you think you know your parents but you don’t really know them until you spend every moment with them. I found out things that she liked to do. I learned that she was a White Sox fan. As children, you don’t take the time to get to know your parents because they’re so busy working and getting you through school. The last 6 months of her life was the best time that we spent together. She wasn’t just my mother, she became my best friend. That was precious to me. Those are memories that I’ll always have. I didn’t have a chance to take her to a White Sox game but I did take her to see the Louisville Bats. She really enjoyed that.

Family’s important. My mother was down there, in the South, when Katrina came through. She was down there without electricity for 2 weeks. I was trying my best to get down there. I was able to get off work and have my family from the north meet me here. We had 3 vehicles. One vehicle was carrying gasoline cans. One was carrying supplies, like paper towels and cleaning stuff. Then, we had one that had a generator. Everybody had SUVs, going down to Mississippi. We also had saws with us because we had to cut our way through, to get to my mother. The best moment for her was when she seen us coming with all of our supplies. I had to get there fast because I wanted to file her insurance and she didn’t have electricity and all I had was my cell phone.

Knowing that she was down there, alone, it made me feel like she scared and stranded. She didn’t have any hope. She lost all of her food and everything. She was by herself. She ended up getting food from the army. When we got there, tears was flowing down her face. I was just thankful to God that I was able to get to her. 

Don’t take life for granted. Spend as much time, as you can, with your family. Always put first in everything you do.” - Melody, Shawnee

“I basically came down here in December. I’m from New York. She’s been here her whole life. It reminds me of where I am from. Portland just reminds me of home, in a way. I like it. People are really nice, not like us New Yorkers. It’s a new environment and I like it. 

Nobody really likes to come down here because they hear about the gunshots, druggies, and all of that. Me, personally, you’re going to find that no matter where you go. People are afraid to come down here and you don’t have to be afraid. If you’re in the gangs and into drugs, you’re at risk of being into stuff. If you’re not into it, you’ll be fine. I’ve been here since December and I have no problems with anybody. I just stick to myself, go to work and come home. 

I don’t know, people have their own opinions but I think it’s stupid how they’re scared to come down here. I take my daughter to the park all the time. I take her walking all the time and nothing happens.” Will, pictured with Danielle and their daughter, Angel in Portland

“If my life was an album, the title would be ‘There and Back’. I done been all the way to the extremes. I done been to the penitentiary. I’ve done been through all of the hardships and now, I’m back. I’m comfortable and back with my family, living life. I’m level-headed. I have kids, now. I’m here, I’m back, and I’m not going anywhere because I have to be here for them. 

It’s been a struggle as a young black man. That’s 2 strikes, right there. It’s 3, now because we’re in America. That’s the struggle, right there.” - Swag (Left)

“Going to jail was the defining moment that shaped me into the man that I am. I was watching who was there and who wasn’t there. I would brainstorm about what I was going to do when I got out to keep from being broke. I’ve been out for a year, now. My family inspires me everyday.

My advice to the world is to stay focused and level headed. You can accomplish anything out here and make a living doing it.”- TJ (Right), Shawnee

"The key to happiness in a relationship is patience. Love comes with pain, so you need to push through that. If you’re in a new relationship and ya’ll are arguing, don’t throw it away. At the end of the day, you’re still learning things about each other. Don’t be afraid to take a big ass step in your relationship. I just moved 15 hours away from my home, for my girl.

Don’t let people tell you who to be. Be yourself, no matter what. At the end of the day, nobody can judge you but the man above. That’s my motto. When it rains, look for rainbows. When it’s dark, look for stars. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel.” - Star (right) pictured with Bryana (left), Shawnee

“I’ve been here all my life, born and raised off of 33rd & Garland. Actually, we lived on Vermont, then we moved to 33rd. I was on 33rd for 20 years. In the West, I had peaks and valleys but as far as growing up, I had both of my parents and my life was alright.

I always wanted my own business, I just didn’t know what it was going to be. Basically, I studied other people and seeing how they were getting their business to grow. Black business ownership is so important and I’m so big on that. We, as black people, always want to get a good job and nothing’s wrong with that. Rarely are we taught to work for ourselves and create our own wealth. We’re always told to go to school and get a good job. There’s a difference between wealth and income. Income is something you can’t pass down, wealth is something that you can pass down. I’m big on that. I want more black people to get involved with owning their own businesses and creating their own platform. We just get in this comfort zone where we have to get up and find a good job and go to work everyday. Every other culture and race focus on wealth and not income. That’s the problem that we have. We think that getting an education and getting a good job is where it’s at. We can’t pass that down. We need to get more involved with owning our own businesses. 

The biggest part of failure is not trying. You have to try. You’ve got to get out there and do your research. I don’t care what it is. You can monetize anything. Whatever your preference is, just get out there and do it. Don’t procrastinate. We have to create our own wealth. If you look around, how many black owned businesses do you see in the West End? Let’s be honest, you have Arabs and Asians down here, controlling everything. They come down here and open up these businesses. They’ll take their money and make sure that their money rotates in their community, at least 10 times, before it comes back out. That’s how they create their wealth. Black people, we get our money and it goes right outside of our community. We need to learn how to rotate our money. I don’t care if the business is way downtown, we need to patronize them as much as we can.

There’s a difference between a neighborhood and a community. We need to control our own community and not just have neighborhoods and hoods. We need our own hospitals, schools, police, and a lot of other things. We need to control our own area. We need education, which is very important. We also need more jobs. 

The defining moment that shaped me to who I am is when I went to prison. I seen how the system was developed to work against our favor. That woke me up. When I got out, I chose my own path. I have my own kennel, with my partner. We breed and sell American Bullies. We also have our own store. This will have a snowball effect. When you’re down in prison, you’re working for 35 cents a day. That’s basically slavery. With the lifestyle that I chose for so many years, I wasn’t going to be able to go and work for somebody and be consistent. I had to find a way to monetize something and that was these dogs and this store.

I watch this guy, Tariq Nasheed, and he really motivated me. He’s a street dude and he monetized everything he did with documentaries, clothing, and his podcasts. He’s just like me and I got to thinking that if he can do it, I can. I started to study him and that’s how I got my motivation and mojo to go out and get it. 

My advice to the world is that the endeavor that you've set out for, that you create in your mind, you only defeat yourself when you don’t try at all. That’s the only time you’re going to lose. Stay focused and keep a level head and go out there and chase the bag. Make sure you keep the winning mentality. You’re going to have peaks and valleys, so don’t give up. Don’t get discouraged, stay focused and keep a positive mind. Whatever you put in the universe, whether it’s negative or positive, it’s going to come back at you. If you produce good energy, that’s what you’ll get out of life.” - Emmett, owner of C & E Food Mart in Algonquin

“The West End needs more stuff for the youth to do. I ride through the neighborhoods and I see kids with a lot of energy but they don’t have a place to release it. We need to focus on making sure that these kids have the best education. We need to read to them and teach them how to read and write. There should also be some fun things for them to do, like putting a play together, letting them do skits and stuff. We have to focus on the children.” - Cheryl, Russell

“I think that we need to come together and be more involved. The younger people need to be more involved and do more community activities. We need more clubs, like the Boy & Girls clubs. We need somewhere where we can hang out and it’ll keep us out of the streets.

If you ever get a chance to come up on some money or something, invest it back into your community. You see people, all the time, will get the money and leave. Imagine if you came up on $100,000 and took that to rebuild a house. Don’t turn your back on your people, just stick together.” - Te’Shawn Jr. (Right), Russell 

“We need more leadership down here in the West End. A lot of people say that they wanna change but you have to see people change. We gotta see each other change and want to do better for each other, instead of talking. A lot people need to lead by example for the younger people. Some people need a little bit of help and sometimes all it takes is leadership. Hopefully, they’ll follow. 

We have to learn to respect one another. Not just down here, but worldwide. We have to respect that everybody has their own opinion and differences. It’s okay to agree to disagree. It starts with respecting each other as human beings. That’s what’s missing, nowadays, is respect.” - Te’Shawn Sr. (Left), Russell

“I used to braid a lot children’s hair, when their mothers couldn’t. I would braid their hair for money, so I could go to Ghost Town, on the river. I’d go to Ghost Town or the skating rink. That’s what really started it. I was 8 or 9, braiding hair. I would do that to get some money and go to the amusement park.

What really got me started was when I was in high school. We had to do a co-op. My first job was a job in the kitchen. I couldn’t do that one. Then I got a co-op at Johnson’s Beauty Supply. I was 15 years old and I was working there as an receptionist and a shipping clerk. I shipped all the orders. Someone would call the store and order. I would get the orders ready and ship the hair products out to different beauty salons. There wasn’t that many supply stores. That’s when I started getting into hair because I worked at that supply store. 

What made me decide to open up my own shop? I was tired of moving from shop to shop. Most hair dressers and barbers are like gypsies, we’re moving all the time. My two sisters are hair stylists, too. So, my thought was to step out and be the one to open a shop because I’m the older sister. My sisters have been with me since we were together. We’ve been here, on this corner, since ’92. So, that’s 26 years. I’ve been a hairdresser for 34 years. 

Opening up was the hardest. I had a hard time. My credit was good. Wanna talk about redlining? My husband had a good job. We went to the Citizens Bank, my score was 800. Don’t you know that I was denied out here in the West End? I went out east, where I live at, and I get approved that day. Ain’t that something? I went through a lot. 

When I opened up, the plumbing inspector didn’t like my plumber. Don’t you know that I had to jack up my floor 6 times? All because they didn’t  like each other. I wasn’t even in it. Every time I had a different plumber, the inspector needed to see my pipes. That was me spending more money cause he didn’t like my plumber. I’ve been caught up in all kind of mess.

The West End needs more grocery stores. People are paying $5 for bag of sugar. There needs to be more activities for the kids, and more community involvement.” - Pam, owner of Mirror Mirror located in Russell

“The house that I live in is my great grandmother’s house. It’s off 34th & Greenwood. She was a hairstylist. Between her and Mr. Lee, we don’t know who did the most curls back in the day. I grew up with that because her salon was always at the back of the house, which is now my laundry room. That’s where she did hair. Guess where I was going? Over my grandmother’s house. Guess what I was doing? I was holding them rollers. When I was growing up, one my mom’s friends’ mother was Lillian Coiffure. She had a salon on 23rd & Maple called Lillian Coiffure's. Now, Lillian is where a lot of your main names did their apprenticeship. All of them did their apprenticeship with Ms. Lillian. I was probably around 9 or 10, going down there. That’s where I was after school and after work. By the time I was ten, I was the roller wrap queen. If I couldn’t do nothing else, I could roll your hair up. Ms. Lillian would put me on a timer and tell me that I had 15 minutes to roll someone’s hair. I was trained. 

When I got out of high school, I had got accepted into Spelman. I went to school and let my GPA drop because I had a boyfriend. I caught a felony behind him and everything. God rest his soul. I could have went to Morris Brown to get into Spelman. I wanted to be a chemical engineer. I was still in the bathroom doing girls' hair and makeup after school. I had a guy friend who convinced me to go to hair school. Those pieces led together and I’ve been a licensed hair stylist for over twenty something years. 

There was struggles but I had to believe in getting up after falling. You have to believe in getting up. You cannot just lay there. I have a habit of when people tell me that I can’t, I do it because I can. Watch me!

I got caught up with my boyfriend and he was big into the drug game. I was just doing me from the ages of 15 to 22. I got pregnant with my first son. When I became a mom, I knew that I had to do something and get out of the streets. I had my license for about 3 years and never did anything with it because I was in the streets. The streets made plenty of money. I had my first son and started to doing hair, again. I was working for corporations. Then I had my second son at 26 and realized that it was really time to be grown. At that time, I had the struggles of being 26 years old with two kids, one paycheck, and their fathers were in the penitentiary. I worked everyday, minded my business and raised my kids. I was and still am a dedicated mom. I worked, raised my kids, and did all of the sports with them. 

I was a manager at SuperCuts and a barber that I knew had passed away and his wife was going to let his shop go. One of my apprentices lived down the street from the shop and learned that same information. She took her test and bought that salon. She got it, so it was not for me. Then there was another salon whose owner had gotten sick and passed away. I drove by the shop and seen someone cleaning it. I walked in and it was my best friend, my son’s godmother. God blessed her with that. I couldn’t feel no type of way because I’ve been telling this girl to get in this hair game for a long time. She had went from nursing to doing hair. So, at that time, I just prayed on it. One day, I rode past this building and there was lady taping up this sign that read: ‘Everything Must Go’. I came in here and talked to the lady for about an hour. I told her that I wanted the building. She called the landlord and he came over. He asked  me how much money I had and I only had $60. My homegirl, out in the car, had $20. I gave him $80 and he gave me a lease. When I tell you that was nothing but God. God will push you where he knows you need to be.

My first three years in here, this building had been through it. The first year, I was here by myself and I needed to get some people in here. The second year, the roof was leaking and my plants were catching a lot of water. Then, I came in one day and every single pipe busted in the winter. We pumped out over 20,000 gallons of water. Every pipe had burst. I had to go in and replace everything. After dealing with that, the heat decided to go out, in the winter. We had to come in 2 hours before appointments to start the space heaters. It was a struggle. My landlord ended up replacing the water heater, furnace, the ceiling, the roof and everything. I had to start over 3 times in this building. 

The Lord will test you and a lot of people were telling me that he was telling me that this wasn’t for me. I would say that maybe he’s testing me to see how much I wanted this. He’s given me many chances to throw in the towel but I really wanted this. My faith in God keeps me strong in my journey and my faith in life won’t let me give up. 

Until recently, I never looked at myself as an entrepreneur. When doing this type of work, having restriction, rules, and boundaries, will not let you glow and flow as an artist. I wanted to remove the restrictions. I wanted to have a place that’s professional but want people to feel like they’re at home. You know about kitchen beauticians? I want people to feel like they’re in a kitchen but they’re at a professional salon, getting professional work with professional products. I want you to feel like you’re at home.

My name, Beauty Habits, comes from me believing in creating habits that make you feel beautiful. Beauty starts on the inside. I can put any hairstyle on you but if you don’t feel beautiful inside, you’re not going to feel like anything on the outside. When you come in here, you’re getting compliments and hugs. Sometimes, there’s something to talk. I don’t want that spirit over your head while I’m dong your hair because it’s gonna come out. 

My favorite part about my job is making people feel better about themselves. That’s apart of my legacy. I want people to believe in themselves. My son says that I’ll motivate anybody through anything. 

I want people to believe in themselves and push through it. Like I said, I was a convicted felon. On my 18th birthday, I got that lucky ‘F' on my report card. In some people’s heads, as an 18 year old black women, I couldn’t get my hair license. Yes, I can and did, with this appeal and a hearing! They told me that I could never work in a corporate setting. Well, I did that and I worked in management. They told me that I would never go back to college. I have a business degree. The doctor told me that I couldn’t have children. I’ve  got 2 boys and a stepson. I also have a grand daughter and a slew of nieces and nephews. You don’t know what my God knows. Every time someone told me that I couldn’t be more, I’ve been more.” - Sonda, owner of Beauty Habits, Parkland Resident

“I’m a licensed cosmetologist. I was thirteen when I started doing hair and stuff. I just wanted to make everybody look pretty. We would go out and my friends and I couldn’t afford beauty salons and so I was the one doing everybody’s hair. I just continued to do that. After high school, I went to Central High, I went to hair school. It was Roy’s Beauty Academy when I went. It was off of Chenoweth Lane, so I did that and finished. I worked at two salons before I went and got my own. I’ve been here for seventeen years. April 21st made seventeen years. 

I work with my family, my nieces. They’ve been with me for more than eight years. They’ve always been in the salon with me, you know, hanging out and stuff. I’m here to help them and educate them on having their own business. Stay where you are until you get to where you’re going. They want their own and one of them wants a wig shop. I’m here to help them.

What’s kept me in business for so long? It’s the professionalism, personality, no drama, and it’s just a peaceful atmosphere. It ain’t where you’re at but who’s in it. You can have a million dollar salon but it’s the people in that won’t make it run. I’ve had people that’s been with me since I started and I’ve been doing hair for twenty-five years. I’ve got a Dudley Award for nineteen years plus. I’m with Dudley and I’ve received an award last year, the Never Give Up Award, from Dr. Joe Dudley. I’ve been in magazines, too. I’ve thought about moving out of the West End but then I thought that this is a landmark. 

You have to continue education, that’s the key. You have to keep up with the younger generation. My older generation has children and their children had children. It’s like a family thing because they’ve all stayed with me. I deal with generations. 

When it comes to my work, I think of that person. I don’t just think of a style. It’s about how I want them to look and how I want them to feel better about themselves. It’s not about me, it’s about them and keeping their hair together. So, whoever comes out of here, I want them to look nice and right because they represent. 

Stay professional and leave attitudes at home. You never know how the next person’s feeling. So, us, as business owners and cosmetologists, we have to be there for our clients, as a counselor, guider, provider, listener, or anything that will help them out. You never know what they’re going through. I have talked to people who were so depressed and I was able to help them out. That makes me feel good, just to know that I can be there. That’s what keeps me going. 

Stay focused, stay positive, and never give up. Keep your hopes and dreams alive because they are real. Pray and do right.” - Donnitra a.k.a Peanie, Owner of Devastating Doos located in Russell