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Thousands Expected at Launch of My Black is Beautiful Tour at Navy Pier

Movement Inspires Positive Dialogues on Race

Cincinnati, OH (May 12, 2008) — For the past year, Procter & Gamble (P&G) has taken the unprecedented step of inspiring African-American women to talk openly about race, beauty standards and self-esteem. Those online conversations, which escalated after radio host Don Imus' derogatory comments about Rutgers University's black female basketball players, has now evolved into a movement, and today P&G announced the launch of a multicity tour for its My Black is Beautiful campaign.

The four-city tour launches at Navy Pier Festival Hall B on Saturday, June 14, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission to the all-day event, which features lively forums about race, as well as spa and beauty treatments, is free. My Black is Beautiful is expected to attract thousands of women from throughout the Chicago area to seriously examine various aspects of race and beauty issues. They will be pampered at beauty bars and makeover stations, and will be treated to massages, yoga and meditation instruction.

At 1 p.m., actress Tasha Smith hosts a provocative panel discussion about race and beauty with panelists Merri Dee, WGN-9 Community Relations Director; collegiate filmmaker Kiri Davis, whose recreation of the 1940's "Doll Experiment" in her short film "A Girl Like Me" revealed that 21st century African-American children still regard themselves as inferior and less beautiful than Caucasians; Sandra Finley, President and CEO of the national League of Black Women; and "Chicago Sun-Times" columnist Mary Mitchell. R&B husband-and-wife duo Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon, better known as Kindred the Family Soul, will participate in the panel discussion and provide musical entertainment.

At 3 p.m., "ESSENCE®" magazine Editorial Director Susan Taylor will deliver the My Black is Beautiful tour keynote address.

In addition to consultations, screenings and seminars with healthcare professionals in the health pavilion, other event highlights include fashion contests and small group discussions on beauty, self-esteem, finance and media.

The My Black is Beautiful initiative, created by African-American women at P&G, is a holistic, multi-brand movement designed to reinforce pride and stimulate a national conversation about African-American women in popular culture. P&G has also released a My Black is Beautiful discussion guide to encourage women to facilitate conversation clusters in communities across the country.

"MBIB is a movement that will foster positive images that celebrate African-American women and empower all women of color to love the skin they are in and embrace their inner and outer beauty, said Kisha Mitchell Williams, P&G Multicultural Brand Manager. "Recognizing that beauty, self-confidence and self-esteem are connected, the 'My Black is Beautiful' tour was created to host conversations that inspire African-American women to reclaim their standard of beauty."

A 12-hour Chicago preview event on June 7 at River Oaks Mall features a free beauty bar and spa for mall shoppers. Tickets for the main event also will be distributed there.

The summer tour will also visit New Orleans (July 3-6), Atlanta (July 25-26) and Charlotte (August 8-9).

P&G brands Crest®, Pantene Pro-V® Relaxed & Natural, CoverGirl® Queen Collection, Olay® Definity, Always® and Tampax® are supporting the My Black is Beautiful tour and movement.

Consumers can learn more about the campaign and the 2008 summer tour and access the My Black is Beautiful discussion guide at www.myblackisbeautiful.com, at select retail stores and in national magazines.

About Procter & Gamble [NYSE: PG]

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Pringles®, Folgers®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella, Gillette® and Braun. The P&G community consists of over 135,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

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