Melanated Intellects

Its that time of year again where Shayla and I reflect on some takeaways from last year. In this episode we discuss the power of Redirecting & Surrendering and the impacts it can have on us personally and socially when trying to move through our journeys. In this episode we get real about some of the shifts in perspectives and beliefs we had to move through unexpectedly and how we got through...

In continuation of our recent series on Black World History we are revisiting the history of Aboriginal people and Australia. There is so much history we weren’t able to cover and still aren’t able to dive into but we felt this one needed a deeper dive to better understand the long history of the Aboriginal History and their journey to be treated as citizens. This one is an amazing history lesson,...

In continuation of our recent series on Black World History we are revisiting the history of Aboriginal people and Australia. There is so much history we weren’t able to cover and still aren’t able to dive into but we felt this one needed a deeper dive to better understand the long history of the Aboriginal History and their journey to be treated as citizens. This one is an amazing history lesson,...

Happy Holidays Intellects! Tis the season and we know there is a lot weighing heavy on our minds these days. In this episode we unpack why it is important to acknowledge Holiday Blues and different ways to set boundaries to be proactive about them. It is no secret that the world looks very different for us than generations before and pre pandemic, so even if it doesn’t apply this year, you’ll want...

Hello Intellects! In this episode we cover the new Netflix Documentary, Black Beauty Effect. This documentary covers the history behind the black experience as it relates to our fashion, makeup and skin care and the influence it has had on the rest of the world in the past and today. So we decided to discuss our experience with this topic as 2 melanated women and how we’ve been impacted and how we...

Ya'll this is a good one! In this episode we revisit an old episode on Self Love and take it a step further and unpack our views as it stands today and a few things we wanted to elaborate further on last time. We often times hear about Self Love and Self Care but I don't think we spend enough time unpacking what each really mean and how they can show up in a relationship with yourself and...

Hello Intellects! We are back for another season! As always on this episode we are covering what we have been up to these last few months and what you can expect this season! You'll definitely want to listen as we have some changes coming this season! Its good to be back and cheers to another season!

We're back with another bonus episode. In this episode we are discussing Part 2 of the Netflix documentary, African Queens a new series narrated by Jada Pickett, which we hope will be back to cover more on pre-colonial African royalty. In this series, the doc covers Queen Njinga, and her life long journey to protect her people from colonization specifically from the Portuguese at this time. Th...

We're back with another bonus episode. In this episode we are discussing the Netflix documentary, African Queens a new series narrated by Jada Pickett, which we hope will be back to cover more on pre-colonial African royalty. In this series, the doc covers Queen Njinga, and her life long journey to protect her people from colonization specifically from the Portuguese at this time. This documen...

In this episode Shayla and I review the Peacock Documentary the Rebellious Life of Rosa Parks. This documentary went viral a while back and we are sitting down to unpack the true story of Mother Rosa and her impacts to the civil rights movement and overall American History. Mother Rosa, is nothing like that small paragraph we read in the history books and so much  more and you won’t want to miss t...

It’s Not Black History Month: When it comes to headwraps in America. What do you know about them? In this episode we discuss Tignon Laws and the American History behind Black women and head wraps. Why these laws were implemented and how we pushed back unapologetically.  We also circle back and cover updates around The Crown Act and a recent campaign Sponsored by Dove and LinkedIn to eliminate hair...

Who Killed Malcolm X? A question many of us, although there have been arrests, are still unfortunately left with. In this episode, Shayla and I unpack the profound Netflix Documentary: Who Killed Malcolm X along with other history we have learned in our research over the years of the life of Malcolm. We also discuss the facts and circumstances around his murder and why we consider it to still be a...

Money Mindset! What does it mean? How does it apply? And how might it be affecting you? During these hard times for many, Shayla and I felt it would be a great time to dive deeper into everyone’s favorite topic, Money . But in this episode, we discuss our growth and belief system and how it came to be. This conversation has been incredibly impactful for the both of us over the last few years and w...

Season 3 of Melanated Intellects has come to an end and we both can’t wait for season 4! We know you all will miss us and we will miss you too, which is why we will still be dropping bonus episodes throughout the break. We will be dropping several bonus episodes throughout our break so make sure you turn on your notifications because you never know when a bonus episode might be released. That way...

In this episode, we dissect ‘rest’ as a term and give some history on the 40 hour work week. We give our opinion about rest being productive, our personal experiences, and American work culture. Trust us, you don't want to miss this episode. CNBC remote workers reclaimed hours : https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/29/remote-workers-reclaimed-60-million-hours-of-commuting-time.html Depression may look dif...

This topic has been heavy on our hearts for a while now. Although we try to keep our topics positive when it comes to the black community, we also are here to have difficult and necessary discussions. Recently, we have seen so much division within our community. Including but not limited to division among black men and black women, political division, colorism and so much more. In this episode we...

Happy Black History Month! We are excited to discuss history in 4 continents this year for Black History Month. This episode will be focusing on black history in Australia. In this episode, we discuss the aboriginal people of Australia, the Afro-Australian community, and the solidarity they showed African Americans by joining the “Black Lives Matter” movement. We learned so much while preparing fo...

Happy Black History Month! We are excited to discuss history in 4 continents this year for Black History Month. This episode will be focusing on black history in South America. Millions (the majority) of Africans were taken to South America and enslaved for more than 400 years. In this episode, we discuss Brazil’s Black Consciousness Day, Benedita da Silva, and so much more! Make sure you check ou...

Happy Black History Month! We are excited to discuss history in 4 continents this year for Black History Month. This episode will be focusing on black history in Europe. In this episode, we discuss Scottish history, the Moors, Chevalier de Saint-Georges and so much more! Make sure you check out this episode! Anonymous Feedback Survey (take as often as you would like): https://www.surveymonkey.com/...

Happy Black History Month! We are excited to discuss history in 4 continents this year for Black History Month. This episode will be focusing on black history in Asia. In this episode, we discuss the historical impact African Americans have made on Asia music and culture, the 1st black samurai and so much more! Make sure you check out this episode and fill our short survey to let us know how we di...

In this episode, we discuss the topic of trauma and its impact on the human body. We explain the changes that happen in the brain when trauma occurs, the impacts of cortisol, stress and our personal experiences with anxiety and stress. You don't want to miss this informative episode. Make sure you check out this episode and fill our short survey to let us know how we did! Anonymous Feedback Survey...

In this two-part episode we invite our sisters back to sit down for some girl chat! Cartier (Shayla’s sister) and Ciara (Patrice’s sister) brought their own unique perspectives and experiences to the conversation. We cover so much about our opinions and experiences in regards to leaving spaces, career paths, relationships and more! As always we had a good time with our sisters and they brought per...

In this two-part episode we invite our sisters back to sit down for some girl chat! Cartier (Shayla’s sister) and Ci'ara (Patrice’s sister) brought their own unique perspectives and experiences to the conversation. We cover so much about our opinions and experiences in regards to leaving spaces, career paths, relationships and more! As always we had a good time with our sisters and they brought pe...

As each year comes to an end, we like to reflect upon the previous 12 months and the lessons we have learned. In this episode, we discuss how to tell when you are outgrowing situations, people and places. Also, we talk about who we are becoming, how we are becoming these individuals and our biggest challenges. This reflection is exactly what we needed, and we hope you will agree. Make sure you che...

Trust is a crucial part of the personal growth journey. In this episode we tackle trust from several different directions including self-trust, trust of others and trust in higher power. We further discuss our journey’s with self trust, major lessons we learned along the way and where we hope to be in the future. Trust us you don’t want to miss this dynamic episode! Make sure you check out this ep...