Stella Damasus

I wrote a blog a while ago called DATING MY ABUSER, and was shocked at the number of women who sent emails talking about the abuse they had faced. My heart was so heavy as I realized how bad things have gotten and how silent we have been over the years. One woman’s email really touched my heart and that is why I decided to share another experience.
Stripping myself naked in front of the world is not an easy thing to do, but when my experience encourages, heals and informs others, then it is the right thing to do.

I remember one day in 2009, I had just signed a contract with a new management company and they sent their marketing manager to take pictures of me so that they could build a press kit and other materials for work.
The man I was dating at the time was in my house for a visit, and we were both in the living room when the marketing manager came in. As he entered we exchanged pleasantries and I introduced him to my boyfriend who gave him the most arrogant and disgusting look ever.  The marketing manager brought out his hand to shake him but my boyfriend walked away and didn't even acknowledge his presence.
I apologized to the guy who was really shocked as he was sure they had never met. He was so confused and had to ask me if he did something wrong.  I was highly embarrassed but had to quickly change the subject as usual.
I say as usual because it was becoming a trend with my boyfriend.
I knew how arrogant my boyfriend could be but I didn't think it would be that bad.

"In the spirit of the celebration of women, I want you to meet an amazing and inspiring AFRICAN woman Nneka. She contacted me and was wondering if I would profile her project. When she sent it to me I was blown away and reminded of the fact that no one can fully understand the beauty, strength and magic of the BLACK GIRL. 
ENJOY this article and the vibrant pictures"- Stella Damasus

I was reading a magazine recently and stumbled on a story that caught my attention.
People who know me very well can tell you that when there is something about women and children, my interest is always heightened. 

So, there I was reading about a protest that was organized by parents of a middle school here in America. This protest was born out of the complaints of the students who felt their rights were being violated, and the school authorities did not care too much about them.
This got me charged up already because I do not tolerate injustice especially when children are involved. I continued to read this article only to find out that the problem was with the kind of food and drinks they were serving them.

I sat down in my living room flipping through pages of a big history book just to make myself feel a little more intelligent. People who know me have come to realize that I love to read, not just to get information but also to expose my mind.
 
Anyway back to the history book I was reading.
I got to a chapter that said "TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON THE AMAZON QUEEN MYTHOLOGY". Trust that I took the test believing that I could at least score up to 50%. To my greatest shock I didn't even score up to 30% percent. There were too many names, stories and history that I  did not know of. 

So, I decided to read the full chapter and found the story to be extremely interesting. This may not be a big deal to some people but it is a big deal for me to know these stories, whether real or mythical. 
Let me share a little bit of what I discovered and I hope you will find it interesting.

I met Stephanie (Melanie Crane) in a hotel lobby in Ghana. I was about to get into the elevator when she walked up to me, said she recognized me and loved my work. I was very humbled not only because it’s always amazing to know that what I do inspires others but also because I was a bit shocked that a beautiful young lady would bother herself to walk up to me to and tell me how much she admires my work.

We can all agree that there is a very wrong notion people have of beautiful, classy women which is that they are arrogant, stuck up or cocky. So unconsciously, that is exactly how I felt when she walked up to me and i admit that it was wrong of me to feel that way. And much to my surprise, she was very nice, very friendly, very humble and we ended up exchanging numbers.
Even after I left Ghana, we continued to talk over the phone and we became very close, almost like sisters. We were so comfortable sharing our emotions with each other as well as encouraging each other.  

I watched an old movie called “AMISTAD” some days ago and even though I had seen the movie before, it all seemed fresh and very emotional to me. Honestly, I was not even sure if it was the kind of movie that should be shown at a time where it seems like slavery never left America.
Regardless of what was declared or what was agreed, slavery is still an essential part of the issues we are facing today. One might think that I am referring to physical slavery alone but the truth is that mental slavery is even more prevalent.