Episodes
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Ep. 49: Tanya Wright
On today’s show, I interview Tanya Wright. Tanya is an actor who for the past 25 years has been on some of the most iconic shows on television. Shows that include NYPD Blue, True Blood and Orange is the New Black. The New York City native started acting on the Cosby show. That’s where I first saw...
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Ep. 5: Keturah Bobo
Hair! How I Grew It has lost one of our natural hair sistahs. Talented artist and entrepreneur Keturah Bobo passed away earlier this month after a long illness. As a loving tribute, we’re revisiting her inspiring episode where she shares her natural hair journey—originally released on October 21,...
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Ep. 48: Joy M. Hutton
Hair How I Grew It is honored to be ranked on Feedspot’s and MillionPodcasts’s best lists. 25 Best Natural Hair Podcast Best 10 Natural Hair Podcasts Best 10 Black Beauty Podcasts Best 50 Hair Podcasts On today’s show, I interview business owner Joy M. Hutton. Joy has one of the most striking…
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Ep. 47: Kassidi Jones
Hair! How I Grew It is honored to be ranked on Feedspot's and MillionPodcasts's Best Natural Hair Podcasts' lists. On today’s show, I interview Kassidi Jones. Kassidi is an assistant curator at a Black research library. The Hartford, Connecticut native is also an antiracist animal advocate. Pets...
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Hair! How I Grew It: Trailer
Hair! How I Grew It trailer
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Ep. 46: Janel Caminos
Hair! How I Grew It is honored to be ranked on Feedspot’s 25 Best Natural Hair Podcasts's list on the web. On today’s show I interview curly hair influencer Janel Caminos. Her authentic voice has paid off in partnerships with multiple beauty brands. She is an ambassador for Sienna Naturals.…
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Ep. 45: Michele Joseph
On today’s show, I interview Michele Joseph. I met Michele years ago at a networking event in the Washington, D.C. metro area. As the organizer, this striking sistah commandedthe room. Not surprising since she was a high fashion model during the 1980s supermodel era. You’ll want to stick around...
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Ep. 44: Endia Henry
On today’s show, I interview Endia Henry. Endia, pronounced India, is a principal consultant in the healthcare technology industry. She is also an entrepreneur, who started selling bamboo wig caps out of necessity. More on that later in the show. Endia describes her hair texture as soft like...
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Ep. 43: Shannon Beasley Taitt
On today’s show, I interview my Delta Soror Shannon Beasley Taitt. Shannon used to work with my Delta line sister Erin and past Hair! How I Grew It guest Sharron Fletcher at the U.S. Department of Justice. Listen to episode 30 to hear Sharron share her journey to her best natural hair life.…
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Ep. 42: Heather Dolland Tamam
On today’s show, I interview Heather Dolland Tamam. She is an author, lifestyle content creator and model based in New York City. Heather typically wears her soft, coily and pillowy Afro in a wash and go. She prefers the easy style because it’s not a lot of fuss. Also, this queen is still getting...
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Ep. 41: Tanya Turner
On today’s show, I interview Tanya Turner. Talking to Tanya really did seem like old times because back when we were broadcast journalism students at Ohio University, we often talked for hours. Ready to conquer the world. Tanya is currently a human resources director based in the Atlanta, Georgia...
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Ep. 40: Dominique Kizer
On today’s show I interview Dominique Kizer. She is a linkage coordinator at her alma mater Shaw High School. My cousin and other folks that I know graduated from there. The Shaw High School marching band is legendary. What does a Linkage Coordinator do?
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Ep. 39: Lori Danley
On today’s show I interview Lori Danley. Lori is a project manager in Washington, D.C. She is also the cousin of past Hair! How I Grew It guest Sylvia Danley-Smith. When one of my podcast guests fell through, Sylvia immediately recommended her cousin because Lori makes luxury shampoo bars. Luxury...
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Ep. 37: Lurie Daniel Favors
On today’s show, I interview attorney, author, activist and radio host Lurie Daniel Favors. Lurie is the Executive Director at the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College. In January 2013, she self-published Afro State of Mind: Memories of a Nappy Headed Black Girl to rave...
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Ep. 36: Sylvia Danley-Smith
On today’s show, I interview Sylvia Danley-Smith. Sylvia is living her best natural hair life, and she’s showing it off as a content creator and social media influencer. Her target group—women over 40.
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Ep. 35: Nichelle Smith
On today’s show, I interview my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Sister Nichelle Smith. Nichelle is the enterprise editor for racism and history at USA TODAY. Saying Nichelle and enterprise in the same sentence makes me think of Star Trek and the actor, who portrayed Lieutenant Uhura in the original...
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Ep. 34: AJ Watkins
On today’s show, I interview AJ Watkins. She is the founder and CEO of All Natural Kinks, a natural hair care company based in LA. It’s inspired by AJ’s struggles to grow her natural. More on that later in the show. Let’s start with AJ’s hair beginnings. She was born and raised in Gilroy.
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Ep.33: St. Clair Detrick-Jules
On today’s show, I interview St. Clair Detrick-Jules. She’s a photojournalist in Washington, D. C., her hometown. St. Clair’s love letter to her younger sister Khloe is called My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood. More on that later in the show. First, let’s…
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Ep. 32: Mercy Chikowore
On today’s show, I interview Mercy Chikowore. Mercy is a publicist in the Washington, D.C. metro area. She is also my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister. I always start my Hair! How I Grew It interviews with, “Where were you born and raised?” While all the answers have been interesting, Mercy’s…
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Ep. 31: Bernita Cooper
On today’s show, I interview Bernita Cooper. Bernita is the CEO and Founder of Bernita Cooper Communications. She helps her clients alleviate the stress of creating content that informs, educates and tells a story. Bernita was born and raised in Hemingway, South Carolina, which is a small town...
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Ep. 30: Sharron Fletcher
On today’s show, I interview Sharron Fletcher. Sharron is a Lead Victim Justice Specialist in the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime. I met her in 1999 shortly after I moved to the Washington D.C. metro area. Her friend, colleague and my Delta Sigma Sorority line sister Erin,...
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Ep. 29: Linda Dukes-Campbell
On today’s show, I interview my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister and fellow Cleveland native Linda Dukes-Campbell. Linda is a voice over actor. Her melodious tone is smooth and calming. I’d be entertained just listening to Linda read the yellow pages. While voice over acting is something she’s...
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Ep. 28: Ashley Rowe
On today’s show, I interview my Divine 9 sister, Ashley Rowe. Ashley is a licensed natural hair care specialist and instructor. She is a SisterlocksTM brand ambassador and an R Certified consultant. R Certified means she’s been trained to teach people how to maintain their own sisterlocks. Ashley...
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Ep. 25: Helen Maynard
On today’s show, I interview Helen Maynard. She is an assignment editor for News 5 Cleveland, which is the local ABC television station in Cleveland, my hometown. Helen has worked in TV newsrooms for more than 30 years. I met her in the early 1990s. She was one of my supervisors at News 5 when I...
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Ep. 24: Eddith Dashiell
On today’s show, I interview Dr. Eddith Dashiell. In May, she became the Director of the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. Dr. Dashiell is the first woman and the first African American to hold the position. I met her in the early 1990s when I was a journalism student at OU....
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Ep. 23: Tanikka Charraé
On today's show, I interview my beautiful and talented cousin, Tanikka Charraé. I wanted Tanikka to be a part of Hair! How I Grew It’s first season, but she couldn’t because before COVID, she was traveling around the world singing backup for Lauryn Hill. She’s been doing that for nearly 11 years....
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Ep. 22: Sabine Paul-Yee
On today’s show, I interview my family doctor, Sabine Paul-Yee. She’s a CentraState physician, who embraced her natural six years ago. Dr. Paul-Yee is the best doctor I’ve ever had. Her bedside manner is impeccable, and she always makes me feel like my health really matters, so of course I had to...
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Ep. 21: LaWanda Toney
On today’s show, I interview LaWanda Toney. LaWanda is a Communications Director for a nonprofit based in the Washington, D.C. metro area. A South Carolina native, she is also a graduate of Howard University. We spoke less than 24-hours after former Vice President Joe Biden announced he picked...
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Ep. 20: Rita Brent
On today’s show, I interview Comedienne and Musician Rita Brent. Rita embraced her natural five years ago. Her viral videos are the humor we need during this unprecedented time. The Mississippi native’s Quarantine Shuffle features Rita dancing with her family while she sings about washing hands,...
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Ep. 19: Karla Redditte
On today’s show, I interview Karla Redditte. Karla is a TV anchor and reporter at NBC 12 in Richmond, Virginia. The Memphis, Tennessee, native is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. See, told y’all, this Delta is all about spreading Greek love. Karla embraced her natural 12 years ago…
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Ep. 18: Ashley Moore
You know the saying, don’t judge a book by its cover? Well, it applies to today’s guest, Ashley Moore. A Georgia peach, who now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ashley is a Cardiac Clinical Specialist with one of the top medical device companies in the world. Her job is to help electrophysiologists...
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Ep. 16: Janelle Coleman
On today's show, I interview my fellow Clevelander and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Sister, Janelle Coleman, who is one of the busiest people I know. Janelle is the Executive Vice President, External Affairs for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, one of the top zoos in the country. Her community life...
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Ep. 15: Adrian Lane
On today's show, I interview my fellow Clevelander, Artist and Preschool Teacher Adrian Lane. Adrian is designing the cover of Cleveland’s Crown Angels, my first fiction book, that’s coming soon. During the podcast, I’ll share a few excerpts from this over-the-top supernatural, natural hair...
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Ep. 13: Tonya Brewington
On today's show, I interview Technology Consultant and Life Coach Tonya Brewington. Tonya is the CEO and founder of TBrewing Consulting and Courageously Alive. The latter helps people learn how to live and love again and create a life filled with courage, forgiveness and growth, particularly…
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Ep. 12: Kimberly Turner
On today's show, I interview Fitness Entrepreneur Kimberly Turner. Everyone calls her Kim. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Kim has rocked her natural for nearly 25 years. She likes the look because it’s versatile, healthy and fits her fitness lifestyle. At 51, her sculpted body and flat abs put...
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Ep. 11: A'Lelia Bundles
On today’s show, I interview A’Lelia Bundles. She is African American haircare royalty. I spoke to A’Lelia just days before the 152nd birthday of her great-great-grandmother, Madam C. J. Walker. I’d heard of Madam Walker, the first documented, self-made black millionaire, who built a haircare...
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Ep. 10: DaNotta Jackson
On today’s show, I interview my cousin, DaNotta Jackson. She’s a retired United States Marine Corps Company First Sergeant. A Beaufort, South Caroline native, DaNotta’s been sporting her natural for more than 20 years. When I asked her to be a guest on Hair! How I Grew It, she, of course, said…
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Ep. 8: Christian
On today’s show, I interview Christian. She is the daughter of my friend and Hair! How I Grew It guest, Caroline Brewer. Caroline, as Christian mentioned in the beginning of the show, is a pioneer. She was one of just a few black women, who wore a natural in her native home of Fort Wayne…
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Ep. 7: Tamika Felder
Normally, I introduce my guest, but today, I’m letting my guest introduce herself because quite frankly, she does it a hell of a lot better than I would.
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Ep. 6: Kamara Douglas
On today’s show, I interview Kamara Douglas. The natural hair discrimination she experienced on a job helped change the law in Cincinnati, Ohio. Now, Cincy is the second U.S. city to ban natural hair discrimination at work. New York is the first. Even though I’d never met Kamara, I knew in my gut...
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Ep. 4: Caroline Brewer
On today’s show, I interview my friend, Communications Professional and Children’s Book Author Caroline Brewer. Caroline is busy gearing up for the November release of her 12th book called Darius Daniels: Game On!, so I’m grateful, she took some time to talk to me. Years ago, when I asked some...
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Ep 3: Carla Moore
On today’s show, I interview my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister, Carla Moore. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, Carla is the second Delta featured on the program. Don’t worry, this won’t turn into a DST podcast, but a few more of my Sorors will probably stop by. My father introduced me to Carla…
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Ep. 2: Estee Irby
On today’s show, I interview my sistah from another mistah, Estee Irby. I wanted to talk to Estee because she’s my natural and silver hair twin. Like me, she has course, very tight coily curls. But, unlike me, she’s a natural newbie. After relaxing her hair for nearly 30 years, she stopped...
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Bonus: Jen on wigs, weaves & braids
In this HHIGI bonus clip, my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister, Jennifer Jones, explains why she'll never wear wigs and weaves, but she has considered sporting braids. Braids pic courtesy of Meghan Linehan at https://www.flickr.com/photos/meghanl/.
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Ep. 1: Jennifer Jones
On today’s show, I interview my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister, Jennifer Jones. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Jennifer was one of the first people I called for advice when I was thinking about going natural. She’s a Quality Assurance Analyst based in Charlotte, North Carolina. We pledged...
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Bonus: Jen's Straight Hair Relapse
My Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister, Jennifer Jones, is the first guest on Hair! How I Grew It, which debuts on August 26, 2019. Here's a bonus clip from Jennifer's interview. She explains why she occasionally still blows out her natural.
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Preview: Story behind Hair! How I Grew It
Host and Producer Drakeel Burns previews Hair! How I Grew It and explains why she created the podcast.