Of Ghanaian heritage, but born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Yaba Blay has devoted her scholarship to the nuances inherent in women of the African diaspora claiming their freedom. She explains how the concept of her popular web series, Professional Black Girl, grew out of her intentional choice to explore beauty politics and how Black women engage with their bodies as a result of it. Originally intended to be a fun documentary about her and her sistafriends’ obsession with a large beauty supply store in North Carolina, Professional Black Girl now has become a series of videos of Black women sharing how committed they are to their grooming process and celebrating the aspects of beautifying one’s self that are exclusive to Black girl culture. Yaba intends the series to be a celebration of Black women’s beauty and fashion choices, regardless of what those choices are. As the series goes into its second season, Yaba reflects on how simply creating and producing Professional Black Girl has helped her unchain herself from the notion of what it means to be “professional.” Like many Black women with careers in academia, she once committed herself to sounding and looking like what white supremacy decided was “professional.” She accepted positions at universities that were overwhelmingly white and acted accordingly. Now, with PBG reflecting her love of black girlness, she has no interest in the performance of whiteness that passes for professionalism. She has become unapologetic in choosing to live in only black ass cities and spend her time doing black ass things. “Blackness is at the forefront of my identity,” Yaba says. “There is no place where I can thrive if my love for my people and my culture are not fed.”
