Five
young women broke the Internet when they shared photos of themselves at
the beach recently. Their monochromatic swimsuits set against the
seascape background went viral on Twitter, receiving more than 105,00 likes and 33,000 retweets.
Raejeen Walker, 19, Nija Imani, 22, Arianna Morris, 19, Chantal Tharrington, 26, and Khali
Brewer, 18, collaborated with aspiring photographer Ly’Kerria
Richardson and makeup artists Anasia Blueford for the photo shoot.
Imani Tells Yahoo Style,
“Rae decided it would be a great idea to get a group of females
together to do a shoot that empowered women of color,” she says. “A
shoot that showed us being comfortable in our own skin and embracing one
another. So that’s just what we did.”
Chocolate makes everything better
The
women are overwhelmed with the attention their photos have received. “I
had no idea that our pictures would actually reach as far as they did,”
Imani says. “It felt so unreal, I was so amazed, yet humbled. I was
most thankful to have had the opportunity to share our message with
thousands. It was truly a remarkable experience.”
Morris,
one of the participants, agrees. She tells Yahoo Style that the group
of friends hope to inspire others to embrace their beauty regardless of
color. “I feel like we are getting a message across for young black
women to love their skin color and not be ashamed. Black girls are
beautiful, black girls are smart and they rock,” she says.
Walker shared a behind-the-scenes video from the New Jersey beach where they held the shoot.
— (@raaee_) July 2, 2017
The impeccable photos have caught the attention of the Internet, including rapper Wale.
Your tanning beds could NEVER! pic.twitter.com/CqCEtLGh2y
I run through a wall for y'all .
Brewer says she is happy the photos have gotten so much attention, “People
often told me ‘you’re pretty for a black girl’ as if being black is
ugly,” Brewer tells Yahoo Style. “This photo shoot truly shows the
beauty of being an African American woman.”
And the Twitterverse is praising the women for their beauty.
I need o get some of my girls together and have a bomb photo shoot like thishttps://twitter.com/raaee_/status/881712855845916673 …
turn to Melanin, Chapter 5, Verse Fine. https://twitter.com/raaee_/status/881712855845916673 …
They really can't, I'm wasting my money even trying. Yas queenshttps://twitter.com/raaee_/status/881712855845916673 …
Makeup artist Blueford says, “I
think its a beautiful thing and there’s more to the message. It’s
bringing more and more black women, day by day, to learn to love the
skin they are in. They’re learning to stand up for their own kind, not
only dark skin but all shades of melanin.”