March 30, 2023
By Brian W. Carter
Contributing Writer
“Growing up and being a Black girl is hard,” said Kheris Rogers. “It’s not just what you go through as an adult, everyone says being an adult is hard—it’s hard being a kid too.”
Kicking off a Women’s History Month weekend, the teen model, activist and CEO of Flexin in My Complexion and founder of the Kheris Rogers Foundation, held a virtual media round table featuring her book “Shine Bright”, Thursday, March 23.
Published by HarperCollins, “Shine Bright” is about a young girl who loses her self-confidence when others criticize her appearance. The young girl finds encouragement from her sister to find her inner “shine” by helping her to love herself. Rogers wanted to share her real-life story of bullying, colorism and self-esteem issues she faced over her dark complexion at the age of 10.
“I’ve experienced colorism and racism,” said Rogers. “And growing up and experiencing those type of things at a young age, and not really knowing what they mean can be very life-threatening.”
She continued, “I could be self-harming or not mentally okay with myself.”
Although encountering those hurdles at a young age, Rogers says the experience has brought rewards in her life and given her a purpose.
“Going through that, especially going through colorism and you feel like you don’t have the support around you from your own community can really be a little off,” said Rogers.
“But, experiencing those things, I’m actually glad that it happened because without it happening, I probably wouldn’t be doing anything that I’m doing today.
“It’s good that I turned that negative into a positive.”
In celebration of Women’s History Month, The Kheris Rogers Foundation hosted a free women’s round table event in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 25 in partnership with the Long Beach Unified School District, Black Student Achievement Initiative.
The panel discussion addressed colorism, racism, representation and celebrating Black women. Guests were entertained by live music, refreshments, a selfie wall and swag bags. Model troupe Runway for Peace modeled in a mini fashion showing a “sneak peek” of the spring Flexin in My Complexion line.
When it comes to “Shine Bright”, Rogers created a book that talks about the struggles of Black youth but, also gives hope and pride.
“I just thought it was super important to write a book for young children so they can know this is what the real world is like, this is what us Black kids go through,” said Rogers.
“When you have that confidence in yourself, when you can look at yourself every day and just know who you are—nobody else can say nothing.”
Rogers continued, “We’re not used to seeing Black girls or Black boys in books. When they see someone who has the same hair texture as them… you know, they get excited.
“I think it’s super important to feel represented or just to be seen, just to feel heard. It’s a good thing that kids are feeling represented in reading books, tv shows, on social media or anything.”
The Kheris Rogers Foundation is set to host another free event in Atlanta on Friday, May 12, 4:00pm-7:00pm (Eastern Standard Time). The Atlanta event is in partnership with the Black Hair Experience Museum. The Black Hair Experience is an interactive selfie-museum that combines a pop-up art exhibit with Instagram-friendly spaces, celebrating Black hair. The exhibit pairs Black culture with affirmations of self-love.
Rogers believes her book is a positive way to help Black youth both see and love themselves.
“I feel like a lot of kids, when they hear the book, I feel like they’re just excited to see someone who looks like them,” said Rogers.
To learn more about Kheris Rogers, Flexin in My Complexion or Kheris’s children’s book, “Shine Bright,”
please visit these platforms:
https://flexininmycomplexion.com/
https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/kheris-rogers-83876
https://m.facebook.com/100044343250361/
https://www.instagram.com/kherispoppin/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/kherispoppin?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/officialflexininmycomplexion/?hl=en