Melanated Intellects

This Netflix documentary was about the discovery of the slave ship ‘Clotilda.’ It is said to be the last known slave ship to bring enslaved individuals from Africa to the US. It carried 110 Africans, and the documentary also highlights the stories of the descendants of these individuals. These Africans were enslaved for 5 years and eventually owned land and built a community in Alabama. In this ep...

This Hulu 6 series documentary was all about black women and their hair. Tracee Ellis Ross hosted this documentary interviewing 6 influential black women and asking them a variety of questions about their hair journey. These women including Issa Rae, Oprah, and Marsai Martin, to name a few, got real and personal about their experiences. We unpack everything from length discrimination, the “pain is...

This episode is so powerful. We discuss taking your power back regardless of the situation. This can include but not limited to romantic relationships, boundaries with loved ones and friends, a situation where you have lost your voice etc. We dissect everything from how your power became lost in the first place, to establishing clear boundaries and mindset shifts you can make to help you along the...

TRIGGER WARNING: We will be periodically dedicating an episode to a melanated cold case throughout the season as we hope to shed more light on these stories. In March of 1991, nearly two weeks after the Rodney King beating, LaTasha Harlins lost her life. She was killed by Soon Ja Du, a Korean convenience store owner over the purchase of a bottle of orange juice. Soon Ja Du was convicted and found...

TRIGGER WARNING: It doesn’t need to be Black History Month for us to speak about Black History. This will be one of many in the “It’s Not Black History Month” series. We will have several episodes like this throughout this season, each focusing on a different topic. This episode is about Being Black in Nazi Germany during the height of their rule. We discuss stories of individuals who were there d...

Energetic hygiene is just as important as any other type of hygiene. Hygiene can be defined as conditions or practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing disease, especially through cleanliness. Our energy is worth maintaining and protecting. In this episode, we talk about everything from tips to maintain and protect it, to the importance of being intentional with it. Do yourself a fav...

In our opinion, any standard related to beauty is an issue because we believe unique and individualized beauty is important to celebrate. Although there are many problematic beauty standards of today, in this episode we decided to focus on a select few. We discuss the beauty standards related to body image, colorism, and make-up. Make sure you don’t miss this episode. Check it out and let us know...

This topic has been all over social media lately and as two individuals from the corporate world we couldn’t help but to weigh in. In this episode we discuss everything from our thoughts on quiet quitting as a term and a behavior to the future impacts we believe the current employment mindset will have on our future as a society. This was such a dope discussion. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it...

TRIGGER WARNING: This book was on our summer reading list, and we couldn’t wait to share our thoughts with our Intellects community. Make sure you check out Part 2 of this 3-part series because we laid the groundwork for the discussion that happens in this episode. In part 3, we discuss vacant esteem, black stereotypes and racist socialization, and a way forward for healing the trauma. We unpack s...

TRIGGER WARNING: This book was on our summer reading list, and we couldn’t wait to share our thoughts with our Intellects community. Make sure you check out Part 1 of this 3-part series because we laid the groundwork for the discussion that happens in this episode. We discuss details about what made American chattel slavery so unique, multigenerational trauma, and the “science” behind racism. We u...

TRIGGER WARNING: This book was on our summer reading list, and we couldn’t wait to share our thoughts with our Intellects community. It was a fascinating read. Dr. Joy DeGruy defines Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome or PTSS as a condition that exists when a population has experienced multigenerational trauma resulting from centuries of slavery and continues to experience oppression and institutionali...

Brittani is a mental health expert! She is a licensed professional clinical counselor with a supervision credential and a licensed independent chemical dependency counselor. She has graced us with her presence, and we had an amazing time discussing everything “Black Mental Health.” She answered some of our most burning questions including the do’s and don’t when beginning therapy, why its so impor...

We are here to present to you another amazing season! We are excited to be back and trust us, we have a lot of exciting news! In this episode, we discuss everything from what we have been up to over our break, changes coming to Melanated Intellects, current topics that happened while we were gone and ways you can have an opportunity to work with Shayla as she starts her Life Coaching Journey. Trus...

Welcome to our third bonus episode of this break! In this episode, we talk about Toxic Productivity which can be defined as an obsessive need to always be productive, regardless of the cost to your health, relationships, and life. We dissect everything from how it shows up in our lives, tips we have learned to help us navigate it and what we think healthy productivity looks like! You don't want to...

Welcome to our second bonus episode of this break! In this episode, we talk about everything alpha! Why don't we self-identify with the term “Alpha Female?” What is our own personal definition and what has been our experience with everything from making others feel intimidated to being confident in corporate spaces. Make sure you tune in to this episode and turn on your notifications because you n...

Welcome to our first bonus episode of this break! In this episode, we dissect toxic masculinity and femininity, how they both show up in our society today, and why we think one feeds the other. We discuss how we think people can make sure their masculine and feminine energies stay harmonized. How long a Hot Girl Summer should last and so much more! You definitely don't want to miss this dynamic bo...

Season 2 of Melanated Intellects has come to an end and we both can’t wait for season 3! We know you all will miss us and we will miss you too, which is why we decided to give you some extra content this year! 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 you can be...

On Friday March 18th, 2022 The House of Representatives passed The CROWN Act. It stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” and it prohibits race-based hair discrimination, which is the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including braids, locs, twists or bantu knots. In this episode we share our thoughts on t...

Visualization can be defined as holding a mental image or imagining what you want to achieve in the future as if it were today. The technique has been around for centuries and has been used in both eastern and western cultures. In this episode, we discuss what visualizing represents for us, our personal journey with it, and tips for visualizing in the most effective way. We also share plenty of re...

Affirmations have been used for centuries but have grown in popularity recently. They can be defined as  words or phrases that evoke a positive state of mind. However, they also have serious scientific backing in the form of neuro-linguistic programming.  In this episode, we share the importance of affirmations, our journey with them, how to practice them, and some of our favorites. You...

TRIGGER WARNING: We will be periodically dedicating an episode to a melanated cold case throughout the season as we hope to shed more light on these stories. In July 2005, Army Private LaVena Johnson was found dead in a tent, while she was serving in Iraq. The initial investigation stated she died of self-inflicted wounds, but her family would later discover that things were not what they seemed....

Happy Women’s Month!! In celebration, we decided to focus on topics that directly impact Black Women. Black Feminism needs to be discussed more often. In this episode, we dissect the term ‘feminism’ and why we feel black women need a separate movement from mainstream feminism. We also define and discuss masculine and feminine energy and how both are necessary and have their own unique spaces. Trus...

Happy Women’s Month!! In celebration, we decided to focus on topics that directly impact Black Women. Policing of Black Women is a real issue facing our community. In this episode, we discuss everything from the policing of black women expressions to the recent focus on how we show up in our romantic relationships. There are podcasts, YouTube channels, and entire platforms dedicated to giving roma...

Happy Women’s Month!! In celebration, we decided to focus on topics that directly impact Black Women. Texturism can be defined as the idea that loose or well defined curls deserve favoring or praise, and it most certainly influences the beauty standard of  black women. In this episode, we discuss the history of our hair types, how texturism shows up today, and so much more! You definitely &nb...

Happy Black History Month!! This year we decided to cover 100 years of black history, highlighting melanated people, places, and events from all over the world. In this episode, we discuss the 1990s and 2000s. We examine a variety of topics including Rodney King, Liberia’s 1st Civil War, Surya Bonaly, Sarah Baartman, Voting Rights and so much more! Let us take you on an informational yet entertain...