- 1 week ago
Live from the Beautycon Stage at Essence Fest with Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and Bozoma Saint John. Beauty is more than skin deep—it's political, cultural, and constantly evolving. In this unfiltered conversation, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett joins Beautycon at Essence Fest to unpack how beauty standards, industry trends, and policy intersect.
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00:00Hey, hey, hey. How y'all doing? Oh, we need a bigger applause for the Congresswoman. Okay. Hey, y'all. Yes. Come on, Essence. Oh, and the Soros up front. Can always find the Soros.
00:20You gotta love it. We love this energy, right? Yes, we do. This feels so good. It's our first panel. Yeah. An amazing Essence Fest. Yeah.
00:29The first one of 2025. Hello. Yeah. Yeah. And we're kicking it off on this stage. We are. We about to get it in. Yes. I am so excited to be in conversation with you because I have certainly had some experiences of beauty in the workplace.
00:45And girl, I think the first time I laid eyes on you was in a very viral moment. And you, the first thing I said is, oh, sis got something to say. And she looks good. You know what I mean?
01:00So, that's, I think, the first start, which is that how do you express your beauty in these tough rooms that you're in?
01:09Yeah. So, listen. First of all, I am so happy to be here. Y'all know that it's been on and popping at work.
01:17Okay.
01:17So, to be in community on a day that's supposed to be about freedom, but being in community with my good black folk, I am so grateful.
01:26Yes.
01:26So, I want to make sure I highlight that first. But listen, as I look around, I see the various hairstyles that we wear and that we have. I see, you know, those that's got the lashes, those that don't, right?
01:39And I think that it's all about being comfortable in your skin no matter where you are. And I think this idea of assimilation is why we've kind of been feeling away sometimes in some of these spaces is because for so long they've said, this is what beauty looks like.
01:55And the reality is that we have always been trendsetters as black folk. Everybody have always copied us. So, why should I be walking into any room and decide that I'm going to walk in and be less than authentic?
02:08Yes, that's right.
02:09So, listen, much love to all of you. Make sure that you continue to represent in your authenticity. I know that times may seem a little wild and crazy, but just know they wouldn't be coming for us if we weren't at the top, right? So, that's what it is.
02:27That's right. Girl, okay. So, how did you know and when did you first know that lipstick was a political statement?
02:32I don't know when I first knew, but I will tell y'all this. Something that most people don't know is that I was actually a child model. So, very young, I was doing modeling and things like that. I was doing print. I was doing a little bit of TV. And so, definitely, they started glamming me up a little early.
02:52Well, that's not a surprise, honey. You look great. So, we have so many conversations around beauty and the standards of beauty and how we show up in the workplace or in spaces that perhaps don't allow for our full beauty to be expressed.
03:07How do you feel like these beauty standards have become a weapon of oppression against us in particular?
03:14Yeah. So, for sure, the fact that we have had to have legislation about our hair, about our natural hair, is like a whole ridiculous thing, right?
03:26But you have to think about when they start attacking things like your hair, that is because they can't compete with your substance.
03:33So, just recognize that they truly understand your strength and your power, and that's why they go for random superficial things, right?
03:44So, every time somebody comes for something that is less than substantive, just know that they are threatened by you.
03:52Yeah.
03:52But I will say this. So long as we decide who is going to sit at the tables, then we can start to turn those tables upside down.
04:01That's right.
04:02So, it's important that when you walk into these spaces, know that, number one, you had to work 10 times harder to get there.
04:09So, the reality is that most of us aren't Nepo babies whose parents put us on the boards or whose parents called and got us a seat at the table.
04:19So, when you walk in there, no matter how you're walking in there, walk in there with confidence because just know they didn't give you anything.
04:26Everything that you got, you fought and you won.
04:31Can we get a round of applause for that?
04:33Yes.
04:34I mean, look, I think one of the challenges is that, you know, we can walk into rooms feeling a particular way.
04:40You know, sometimes you walk out that door and you just feel like you're just the finest, right?
04:43Yes.
04:43And then somebody makes an offhand remark to you that throws off your entire day or throws off your mood, throws off the...
04:50You see, you saw her face, right?
04:53So, my question is, what is the most outrageous beauty comment somebody has made of you as a colleague in these halls?
05:03I think y'all all saw, y'all all said that crazy woman down in Georgia.
05:11Yeah.
05:13You know, it's always the ones that don't look like much.
05:17It's always them, right?
05:20Because that's exactly...
05:21You know what I'm saying?
05:22Stop like, girl, not you.
05:24Not you.
05:25Because we know that she definitely does not set the standard for beauty whatsoever.
05:30So, why are you trying to comment on...
05:32Girl, listen.
05:34But I had to show a lot of things in that moment.
05:38I had to show, number one, that I knew the rules and I knew them better than her.
05:41I also had to flex on her and let her know that I'm smarter than her by being very creative in the moment, right?
05:48I'm sure she had never heard of an alliteration and now she can't run from them.
05:53But, you know, I thought I never imagined that I would be sitting in Congress.
05:58All the way in Congress, y'all.
05:59Now, listen, I was only the 55th black woman ever elected to Congress.
06:04Yes, yes.
06:06But the reality is that even though I walked into those halls and I had to work so hard to get there
06:11and so many people had to die so that I could have that opportunity,
06:15you still have people that are on my same level, like her,
06:17that decide that they want to disrespect me when I'm like,
06:19ma'am, not on my watch.
06:22No.
06:23So, y'all notice that she ain't tried me ever again?
06:28She won't.
06:29Well, we know she shouldn't because I know she hasn't heard the end of that at any point.
06:34Now, the talk around the microaggressions and these beauty standards,
06:38I mean, I'm sure you're thinking about this constantly.
06:40Are there policies or, you know, things that are already in motion with the beauty industry
06:48that you wish you could say, just wave a magic wand and say, that's gone now,
06:52that would make it better for us?
06:54Yeah, you know, I guess my biggest issue is around those that are in the beauty world that are us, right?
07:05So, we've got a lot of black folk that have now gotten into hair products as well as makeup,
07:12but do they really ever get the platforms that they deserve to make sure that y'all have full access to getting their products?
07:19There's always kind of these, I ain't going to talk about this one organization
07:24because we ain't supposed to be talking about them right now,
07:26but at one point in time, what they did is they said, hey, we want to put your products on our shelves.
07:32And so, what happened is they were able to make a lot more money.
07:35It helped everybody.
07:36It helped the entrepreneur and it helped us as the consumers.
07:40And then somebody got into the White House and then they was like, uh, uh, uh, we don't believe in uh, uh, uh, diversity, right?
07:46So, so they wanted to play that game.
07:49But at the end of the day, the number one consumer in this country is black folk.
07:55So, the only people that they played was themselves.
07:59And right now, they're trying to figure out all the ways that they are going to get around it.
08:03But the way that I would tell people all the time is that when you are looking, say, at a portfolio,
08:10if you're in the finance world, the one thing that you want your portfolio to be is diverse, right?
08:15That's how you make sure you always make money.
08:18Yes.
08:18So, it's the same thing for everything.
08:21You always want to be diverse.
08:22So, regardless of these stupid policies, let me tell you, it is going to hurt them more than it is going to hurt us.
08:29Because our diversity is why we have always been number one in this world.
08:33The reason that we're falling behind right now is because we have people that don't understand the importance of diversity,
08:40not just when it comes to your financial portfolio, but when it comes to our beauty, right?
08:45Like, who makes money off of hair?
08:47Right.
08:48Right?
08:49We know.
08:49Everybody else knows, let me go on and sell some hair because I'm going to make me some coins, right?
08:53So, like, it's just one of those things that we really need to be very confident when we walk into rooms with our diversity.
09:02Don't ever shy away from it because the reason that the United States has thrived has been because we have been diverse.
09:09And now we are going back and the retrogression is hurting us financially as well as morally.
09:17Yes.
09:17Yes.
09:18You know, it's so wonderful to hear you say that because last year, in November, I launched my own hair and beauty company called Eve by Bose.
09:30Thank you very much.
09:32Which is targeted towards us, right?
09:34And centers black women and women of color because, for me, I'm like, look, we can purchase anything we want.
09:39Yes.
09:40And if you go on YouTube and search, there's 14 million videos that tell you how to customize it to make it look like you.
09:47Yes.
09:47And I'm like, well, why do we have to go through that when black women purchase 80% of the hair and beauty products?
09:54And so I built a factory in Ghana.
09:56I've been manufacturing and I'm selling it.
09:58Clap it up, y'all.
10:00Yes.
10:01This is what it's about.
10:02Yes.
10:03Oh, and by the way, lace colors that match our skin.
10:06Oh, yeah.
10:07Because what?
10:08Who wants to be dying?
10:09You got to get the tint.
10:10Look.
10:10You got to get the tint.
10:11No, we don't have time for that.
10:12I just want to slap it on and keep moving, okay?
10:14Like I did this morning.
10:15Yes.
10:15All right.
10:16So, now, speaking of power, what is in your purse right now a beauty product that makes you feel the most powerful?
10:26I always have lip gloss.
10:28If I ain't got nothing else, I got lip gloss.
10:31So, there is lip gloss in my purse.
10:34It used to be that I wouldn't go anywhere without an eyebrow pencil.
10:38But then, you know, we were able to come up with some new ways to do the brows.
10:42But I used to not.
10:43I was like, oh, no, no, no, no.
10:44I got to make sure I got brows.
10:46But it is lip gloss.
10:47Okay.
10:47Well, that's good.
10:48Has it always been that way?
10:49Has lip gloss been the thing?
10:51With the eyebrow pencil?
10:53I was about to say, the eyebrows.
10:54Yeah.
10:54Eyebrows.
10:55I like a good lipstick as well.
10:57Okay.
10:57Now, to some serious stuff.
10:58You're getting ready for a major congressional hearing.
11:01Okay.
11:02Walk us through your beauty routine.
11:04Oh, my gosh.
11:05Because what are you going to do?
11:08Like, what is your ritual in entering the room?
11:11Yeah.
11:11Okay.
11:12So, there's a couple of things.
11:13So, my favorite color is black.
11:16All I ever would wear everywhere was black.
11:20And my best friend, who's standing in the back of the room, used to be like, you need to find some colors.
11:24And I'm like, I don't like colors.
11:26It's too confusing.
11:27I just want to wear my black.
11:28But now that I'm in Congress and everything is on video, I was like, I didn't want people to think I was wearing the same outfit.
11:35Over and over.
11:36So, number one, I have to think through what will be a good poppin' color for whatever this particular, like, hearing is going to be about.
11:46Like, what makes sense.
11:47So, I do that with my clothes.
11:49And then, most people don't know this, but when I picked my office in the Capitol, because I never know when I'm going to have to do an interview, things like that, the way that I picked it was because I wanted to set up, like, a whole, like, beauty cubby hole.
12:04Girl, you better.
12:05In my office.
12:05So, like, I have this makeshift, like, vanity, and all my makeup and stuff is also at my office as well as at home.
12:14So, I usually have to do my own makeup.
12:16And so, I get up.
12:19I make sure I'm made up.
12:20If for some reason I'm running, though, I know that I can go to my office and get my makeup or my staff may deliver if I'm like, yo, I didn't get to finish with my powder or whatever, then they will deliver that to the committee room.
12:34So, my staff has had to learn about makeup as well.
12:37That's incredible.
12:38But, no, for the most part, I just kind of figure out what is the mood of this hearing, and that's usually how I determine, like, how colorful I'm going to be with my clothes as well as, like, what I'm going to end up doing as it relates to my makeup.
12:51That's incredible.
12:52You got me at beauty cubby.
12:54I do.
12:54I got my beauty cubby.
12:55I'm going to now incorporate beauty cubby into everything I do.
12:56Now, here's one that I would like to – it will be the second to last question.
13:01You know, I think for a lot of us, when we get up in the morning and we're getting dressed to go to work or to whatever space, we're always concerned, of course, about how people are going to see us.
13:12And you've just made a very powerful statement that you want to be seen a certain way, and so you even created a space to do that.
13:18How do you incorporate how you balance between people who are looking at you and saying, oh, she's just about beauty, look at her lashes, and they don't understand that you're actually also smart and that you'll run around the block with them and drag them behind you?
13:36Yeah, if they don't see my substance, I say they're not paying attention because I like to clear the room with my colleagues as much as possible.
13:46As so many of them really are not on our level.
13:50Like, they're just not.
13:52And it's still – I'm still dumbfounded at how some of these people got elected to be anything other than dog catcher.
14:00What?
14:02Other than dog catcher?
14:03Other than dog catcher, yeah.
14:05And I don't think they could do that well.
14:06But nevertheless, like, it is so dumbfounding to me.
14:10And as I said, it's been a very stressful week.
14:12Like, I didn't sleep really for about 48 hours as we were going through this big trashy bill situation.
14:21And it is amazing to me that we live in a world where people are elected to whatever office.
14:30And your job is to be a public servant.
14:32And somehow they always forget the public part of it or they just completely ignore the servant part.
14:38Unless their servant, say, their master who sits, you know.
14:44Y'all know who I'm talking about.
14:45So, like, it is very frustrating for me.
14:48So, sometimes, understanding that, number one, there's always going to be scrutiny on me.
14:53There's always going to be more scrutiny on black women, period.
14:57There always has been.
14:58There always will be, unfortunately.
15:00Yep.
15:00And so, you know, I wish I could wake up and roll out and not have to worry about how I look.
15:06But honestly, if I don't actually put some sort of effort into my appearance, then certain people will never pay attention to the actual substance of what I'm trying to deliver.
15:16Yes.
15:17And so, I try to make sure that I'm not a distraction to the extent that, like, I don't look like I'm taking it seriously.
15:23Wow.
15:23So, from head to toe, I do think it's important because I am constantly in a public light that people see me as being serious about not only how I show up, but also about what it is that I bring when I show up.
15:38Yes.
15:39Thank you so much.
15:40Okay.
15:41On that note, I know we're out of time.
15:42But I do want to make sure that you get your flowers because we love you.
15:48We love to see you.
15:49We love your lashes.
15:51We love your lipstick.
15:52We love your shoes.
15:54We love your outfit.
15:55We love your smarts.
15:56We love your wit.
15:58We love your education.
15:59We love everything about you.
16:01Can we give some applause for the congresswoman, Jasmine Crockett?
16:04Thank you so much.
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