An Afro Latina’s mission to embrace natural hair gets push from beauty giant

February 23rd, 2022

By Sheyla Baez

After making a name for herself through social media and salons, Dominican American Carolina Contreras’ upcoming Miss Rizos products will be sold at the retailer Sephora.

Ease and joy are two things that Carolina Contreras, founder and CEO of Miss Rizos, hopes to bring to people through her upcoming products designed for curly and Afro-textured hair.

“I knew, I knew, that what we had was special. And I knew there was an empty sort of shelf both online and in stores kind of waiting for this product to happen,” she said.

Contreras, who is Dominican American, will see her products sold at the beauty retailer Sephora. It’s part of Sephora’s 2022 Accelerate brand incubator program, focused on mentoring and supporting upcoming beauty entrepreneurs.

Beyond hair care, Contreras sees her Miss Rizos products as activism. She first became known through her blog, Miss Rizos, celebrating natural hair, as well as through her social media presence and a couple of hair salons she opened.

Embracing blackness, but what about hair?

The concept of Miss Rizos — rizos means curls in Spanish — originated in 2011. After college, Contreras decided to spend time in the Dominican Republic, where she was born.

She wanted to learn what Blackness within the Dominican diaspora meant; it wasn’t a topic openly discussed in the community, she said. A two-month trip turned into a 10-year adventure.

In the Dominican Republic, the routine blowouts to straighten her hair did not last, and choosing between enjoying a beach day and keeping her hair straight became a burden.

The entire premise of moving back to her home country was to learn about her Afro Latino roots, but she was holding back on the one thing that would bring her closer to it — her hair.

Contreras said that one day, two college professors approached her while she was at the beach. They suggested she should stop sunbathing before her skin got too dark. Contreras was not oblivious to the prevalent issue of colorism in her home country. She let them know she was not worried about getting darker, among many other things, but what they later told her felt like a slap in the face.

“You talk about embracing blackness, but you relax your hair,” she said they told her.

That became Contreras’ wake-up call. She realized she wasn’t straightening her hair because it was her choice — it was the only thing she knew. Her mother would relax her hair from a very young age. Whenever her natural hair growth would start coming in and money wasn’t tight, a hair relaxer was the go-to thing. With time, straight hair was the ultimate definition of beauty.

After the comments by the professors, she began to cut her hair and learned to style it in its natural, curly form. As she became in touch with her Blackness, she also found her purpose. 

Contreras’ online community grew as she taught women how to care for their hair on social media and erase the negative connotations associated with Afro-textured hair.

As she shared her hair journey on her blog, people in the Dominican Republic would ask her if she could do the same with their hair. The only experience she had, beside styling her own hair, was a few things she had picked up from working in her aunt’s salon in the United States. 

In 2014, Contreras opened one of the first hair salons for Afro-textured and curly hair in the Dominican Republic. The salon was extremely successful, and in 2019 she opened her second salon, Miss Rizos NYC, in Washington Heights. The New York City salon closed during the pandemic, though she plans to reopen it at some point.

Before applying to the Sephora Accelerate program, creating her hair care line was always top of mind. She had tried in the Dominican Republic, but things did not work out.

The Sephora program is in its early stage, so Contreras can’t say much about what the final hair care line will include.

“I want people to be able to glide their hands through their hair with our products and to feel sort of this ease and joy around their curls,” she said, stressing her goal of celebrating Afro-textured hair.

When customers pick up the product, Contreras wants them to know and feel it’s a Dominican-owned product line.

Funding women of color

The Accelerate program is now in its seventh year and has evolved to focus on Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs. This year’s program will launch 10 BIPOC beauty brands.

Accessing funds is especially difficult, especially for women. According to Crunchbase data, “for the first eight months of 2021, companies with solely female founders raised just 2.2 percent of all venture funding.”

“To be an entrepreneur is one of the hardest things,” said Priya Venkatesh, senior vice president of merchandising at Sephora. “America offers a great marketplace for entrepreneurs; however, it is hard. You have to get capital, You have to have connections. No one’s born with a knowledge of ‘Let me create a brand from scratch,’ there’s many aspects to it.”

While the brands from previous Accelerate programs weren’t always sold at Sephora, the program has pivoted and committed to launch all brands in Sephora in line with its commitment to dedicate 15 percent of its shelf space to Black-owned businesses. 

Puja Kapai featured at TEDxTinHauWomen 2021

December 10, 2021

On December 10^th, Puja Kapai was featured as a speaker at TEDxTinHauWoman, the only annual TEDx event dedicated to women in Hong Kong. The event theme was “What Matters Now”, focused on issues that have emerged as the most important ones in the light of the pandemic- Self Care, Purpose and Perspective.

“How the COVID crisis can be an opportunity for justice”: Puja Kapai calls COVID-19 the great amplifier of social injustice. During the pandemic, discrimination, child abuse, and gender-based violence have disproportionately impacted those living on the margins of society. How can this be a learning moment for action before the next crisis strikes?

Alice Wairimu Ndetritu chosen to be UN special adviser

By Moraa Obiria | The East African| November 17, 2020

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Wairimu Nderitu the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.

In making the announcement on November 10, Mr Guterres described The EastAfrican columnist as “a recognised voice in the field of peace building and violence prevention, having led as mediator and senior adviser in reconciliation processes among communities in her country, Kenya, as well as in other African settings.”

Ms Nderitu is a renowned armed conflict mediator who has played varying roles in the conflict prevention and peace building processes for more than 12 years. Her new role will involve collecting relevant information on political, human rights, humanitarian, social and economic developments across the world. This will then help in identifying early warning signs of the risk of atrocious crimes.

She will also play the crucial role of advocating mobilisation of UN system and member states to take effective action in response to situations where populations are at risk of atrocious crimes.

Ms Nderitu, who won the inaugural Global Pluralism Award in 2017 — given by the Global Centre for Pluralism to organisations, individuals and governments who promote peaceful cohesion through pluralism — started her career on a rather different path. 

In 1990, Ms Nderitu graduated from the University of Nairobi with an undergraduate degree in Literature and Philosophy. In 1991, she joined the Prisons Department as a prisons officer and in the following year she was deployed to Lang’ata Women’s Prison in Nairobi, the only women’s maximum security facility. While there she witnessed human rights abuses, according to The Life and Work of Alice Nderitu of Kenya by Stephanie Chiu.

Between 1993 and 1997, she also served as deputy officer in charge of Shimo la Tewa women’s prison. In 2009, Ms Nderitu joined the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) as a commissioner. It was formed in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 post-election violence and sought to forge reconciliation and cohesion among warring communities. She served until 2013. While at the commission, she led mediation teams to Kenya’s conflict hotspots, often finding herself the only woman at the negotiating table with elders.

She also developed peace education curricula and pushed for the implementation of laws on hate speech and hate crime.

Ms Nderitu is the founder of Community Voices for Peace and Pluralism, a network of African women professionals preventing, transforming and solving violent, ethnic, racial and religious conflicts globally, has more than 12 years of experience in conflict prevention and peace building.

Since 2018, she has been a member of the African Union’s Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation, officially launched in July, 2017.

She is also a founding member and co-chair of Uwiano Platform for Peace, established in 2010.

Since January 2013, she has served as a member of Kenya National Committee on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and all Forms of Discrimination.

Read the article here.

Emmy-winning journalist and Canadian Senator join acclaimed leaders to jury the Global Pluralism Award

Ottawa, Canada – June 4, 2020 – Kim Ghattas, Emmy-winning journalist; the Honourable Ratna Omidvar, Canadian Senator; Ambassador Annika Söder, Chair of the European Institute of Peace; and Bishop Precious Omuku,Archbishop of Canterbury’s Special Representative on Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa, are among the new jurors of the Global Pluralism Award. The jury of international leaders, chaired by the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, former Canadian Prime Minister, will select the winners of the 2021 Global Pluralism Award.

The Award recognizes individuals and organisations whose high-impact, innovative initiatives are tackling the challenge of living peacefully and productively with diversity. The Award is a program of the Global Centre for Pluralism, an international research and education centre founded by His Highness the Aga Khan in partnership with the Government of Canada. 

“The breath of expertise among the jurors speaks to a core belief of the Centre: promoting pluralism is the work of everyone, from all spheres of life. We are delighted to have these new members join our esteemed jury to select the champions of pluralism who will be awarded the 2021 Global Pluralism Award,” said Meredith Preston McGhie, Secretary General of the Global Centre for Pluralism.

“In these uncertain times, global communities of individuals and organizations continue to work tirelessly and courageously to build bridges across divides and isolation. The jury has a great responsibility to select Award recipients who demonstrate that a more equitable and connected world can emerge from this pandemic,” said the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, Jury Chair.

The members of the jury represent a range of sectors, including policymaking, peacebuilding, human rights, interreligious dialogue, education, media and civil society. In their own careers, they are actively promoting greater equity and fighting exclusion. Jury members all appreciate first-hand the extraordinary effort it takes to build societies where differences are valued and respected.

The jury will name the three winners of the Award, who will each receive a prize of CAD $50,000 to further their work in support of pluralism at a ceremony in Ottawa, Canada in the spring of 2022.

The jury includes (alphabetical):

• The Right Honourable Joe Clark, former Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada, Canada (Chair)
  • Ambassador Annika Söder, Chair, European Institute of Peace, Sweden
  • Ms. Kim Ghattas, Non-resident Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Lebanon
  • Ms. Paula Gaviria Betancur, Director, COMPAZ Foundation & Former Presidential Advisor on Human Rights, Colombia
  • Bishop Precious Omuku, Archbishop of Canterbury’s Special Representative on Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria
  • The Honourable Ratna Omidvar, Senator, Canada
  • Dr. Siva Kumari, Director General, International Baccalaureate, United States

Read more about the jurors here.

For more information:

Calina Ellwand,
Global Centre for Pluralism
+1-613-688-0137
[email protected]

“El Estado debe reconocer la existencia del paramilitarismo”: Leyner Palacios

January 8, 2020

País 8 Ene 2020 – 9:00 PM

Por: Marcela Osorio Granados – @marcelaosorio24

El líder social de Bojayá habla de la crisis de seguridad en Chocó debida al accionar de las Autodefensas Gaitanistas y las amenazas de muerte en contra de los defensores y organizaciones sociales.

Leyner Palacios tiene la certeza de que su territorio lo es todo. Allá están su familia, su historia, su pasado y su vida. Por eso se niega a ceder ante las amenazas de los grupos ilegales que el pasado 3 de enero —a modo de sentencia de muerte— le dieron un plazo de dos horas para que abandonara el departamento de Chocó. “Yo no tengo para dónde irme. Soy un campesino, un líder social sin capacidad económica para sobrevivir en la ciudad. Soy una persona con vocación agrícola y pesquera, y en las ciudades esas posibilidades no las tengo. Obligarme a salir de mi territorio es decirme muérase”, asegura.

La intimidación llegó a raíz de las denuncias que Palacios y varias organizaciones sociales del departamento hicieron sobre la incursión paramilitar en el corregimiento de Pogue (Bojayá) el pasado 31 de diciembre, que derivó en el confinamiento de los habitantes de la zona. La alerta volvió a poner la lupa sobre la situación de violencia en el municipio chocoano que intenta recuperarse de las heridas que dejó la masacre perpetrada por las Farc en 2002 y en la que murieron 79 personas. Veintiocho de ellas eran familiares de Leyner Palacios.

Para él es claro que lo que sucede hoy en Bojayá y en otros municipios de Chocó ha sido anunciado desde hace varios años, sin que el Estado haya atendido el llamado de la comunidad e incluso de organizaciones internacionales. Por eso asistió este martes a la sesión de la Comisión Nacional de Garantías de Seguridad —instancia creada con el fin de detener el asesinato de líderes sociales y desarticular a las organizaciones sucesoras del paramilitarismo— para llevar ante el gobierno del presidente Iván Duque las preocupaciones de las comunidades del Pacífico colombiano ante el recrudecimiento del conflicto en sus territorios.

Tras la denuncia sobre la incursión paramilitar que tuvo lugar en Pogue el 31 de diciembre, hubo versiones oficiales que invitaban a una especie de calma. Lo hacían con el controvertido argumento de que no eran muchos los hombres armados que habían llegado a la región. ¿Cuál es la información confirmada?

Yo no puedo decir cuántos hombres armados llegaron a Pogue, porque no los vi. Pero los testimonios de pobladores de la región dieron cuenta de más de 600. Yo confío en las comunidades, porque son las que están viviendo el problema en el territorio. Lo que pasa es que aquí, como hay tanto temor y miedo, nadie se atreve a decir nada, pero la situación es bastante grave. Pero además, la violencia en Bojayá persiste desde hace mucho rato. La Diócesis de Quibdó, la Defensoría del Pueblo, el sistema de Naciones Unidas e incluso Amnistía Internacional han manifestado su preocupación al Gobierno Nacional. Allá hay muchas denuncias de la problemática, pero el Estado no ha actuado en coherencia y ha despreciado esas denuncias. Eso es lo que ha hecho que la situación hoy sea más complicada.

¿Cómo están operando estos grupos en el territorio?

Hay una práctica que todos los actores armados están implementando, que a mí me preocupa demasiado, porque es una forma de involucrar a la población civil en el conflicto. Lo han hecho el Eln en Chocó, haciendo eventos con niños; las Agc llevándoles regalos, y la Fuerza Pública haciendo jornadas cívico-militares. Me parece que en un contexto de guerra como en el que están estas comunidades, esas actividades deberían suspenderse porque agreden el principio de distinción de la población civil en el conflicto armado. Es un incumplimiento de acuerdos internacionales.

La medida inmediata del Gobierno fue aumentar el pie de fuerza en la zona. ¿Es una solución efectiva?

La verdad es que Bojayá no se ha recuperado del abandono de las autoridades militares en 2002. Ven con mucha desconfianza lo que pasó. Y hoy en día la comunidad está preocupada por ciertos niveles de complacencia o permisividad de algunos agentes del Estado con las estructuras ilegales que operan en el territorio. Mucha gente dice, por ejemplo, que en algún punto están los grupos armados y a cinco o diez minutos está el Ejército y no pasa nada. La gente no tiene confianza en las autoridades. Yo creo que es importantísima la depuración seria y profunda de las filas militares.

¿En qué deberían centrarse, entonces, los esfuerzos del Gobierno para empezar a solucionar la crisis?

Lo más básico es responder de manera urgente a problemas que tienen que ver, por ejemplo, con la atención en salud. En Bojayá no hay médico para el río, la gente se muere en los caminos, hay una necesidad de mejorar el sistema. Pero también se requiere que el Estado mejore la infraestructura educativa, que estén los docentes en las comunidades y que exista una interconexión eléctrica. Cómo es posible que más del 60 % de las comunidades no tengan fluido eléctrico. Eso implica un retraso impresionante. Y eso sin contar la crisis en materia de comunicación: en Bojayá pasa algo en una población o comunidad y uno no tiene información sino hasta cinco días después, porque no hay manera de comunicarse de ninguna forma.

Usted también ha insistido en la urgencia de implementar el Acuerdo Final de Paz…

Hay temas mucho más grandes que tienen que ver con la implementación profunda del Acuerdo de Paz, porque es necesario que el Estado colombiano avance en temas como los Programas de Desarrollo con Enfoque Territorial (PDET), las circunscripciones especiales de paz, todo el Sistema Integral de Verdad Justicia y Reparación. Se necesita una decisión política de fondo para empezara a recuperar, no solamente a Bojayá, sino a todas estas comunidades que el conflicto armado ha golpeado profundamente.

¿Cree que es posible el desmantelamiento de estas estructuras ilegales?

La situación es muy compleja, porque para tomar una decisión o pensar en una estrategia para desmontar los grupos ilegales, lo primero que hay que hacer es reconocer el problema. Mientras en Colombia siga el negacionismo del fenómeno del paramilitarismo, de su accionar y afectación a las comunidades, nunca se van a tomar las decisiones correctas. En el caso de Bojayá, las comunidades dan testimonio de cerca de 600 hombres armados y sin embargo las declaraciones de algunas autoridades militares dicen que no son más de 15 bandidos. Colombia debe decidir cómo va a abordar el tema: si son bandidos o si son estructuras grandes como las Autodefensas Gaitanistas.

¿Qué habría que hacer con las estructuras ilegales?

Una oportunidad única que tenemos en el país es la posibilidad de abrir esa mesa de diálogo con el Eln, de tal manera que se den muestras de compromiso y tengamos una paz completa y duradera. También es necesario abrir la posibilidad de sometimiento de las estructuras paramilitares como las Autodefensas Gaitanistas. Nosotros vamos a seguir resistiendo en el territorio. Somos un gran colectivo de organizaciones, Foro Interétnico Solidaridad Chocó, Diócesis de Quibdó, la Comisión Interétnica de la Verdad para los territorios del Pacífico, además de organizaciones de víctimas. Entonces, la pregunta es: ¿nos van a sacar a todos del territorio? Lo que se ha denunciado no es una voz de Leyner, no es una posición mía. Somos todos. Si los actores armados están incómodos tendrían que sacar a todo este colectivo, a todas las organizaciones. Aquí se está queriendo expulsar todo un proceso organizativo en el departamento del Chocó. ¿El Estado va a dejar que pase eso?