Featured Dawning Souls: Tori & Victory
Empowering Visionaries...This month’s Featured Dawning Souls are Tori Elizabeth and Victory Jones. They are the founders of The Colored Girl, the creative agency who’s disruptive viral beauty & fashion campaigns and content have graced the pages of Essence, Instyle, Teen Vogue, Cosmo, and most recently Forbes, have successfully produced their first ever, international experiential women’s empowerment retreat, called IMARA where they convened an intimate gathering of 80 women from across the globe, in a supportive, sisterly environment to learn from one another and grow, both personally and professionally.
I AM a human, who is also categorized as a woman who society labels as Black but identifies as the whispers of my Ancestors. I AM HERE! Tori is rockin the Dawning Soul “I AM” Poetic Tee. If you’d like to learn more about Victory and Tori, visit their site www.thecoloredgirl.com
And for more inspiration and free resources, check out: www.dawningsoul.com
Here’s more about Victory:
I AM. I am passionate about uniting, representing and empowering
people. Specifically women... and I am inspired by truth and love.
I have a warriors spirit and an an insatiable zeal for life. Victory is rockin the Dawning Soul “I AM” Poetic Tee. If you’d like to learn more about Victory and Tori, visit their site www.thecoloredgirl.com
And for more inspiration and free resources, check out: www.dawningsoul.com
Here’s more about the IMARA Retreat:
The Colored Girl Breaks New Ground with Inaugural Women’s Empowerment Retreat: IMARA
The Colored Girl, the creative agency who’s disruptive viral beauty & fashion campaigns and content have graced the pages of Essence, Instyle, Teen Vogue, Cosmo, and most recently Forbes, have successfully produced their first ever, international experiential women’s empowerment retreat, called IMARA.
Founders, Tori Elizabeth and Victory Jones convened an intimate gathering of 80 women from across the globe, in a supportive, sisterly environment to learn from one another and grow, both personally and professionally.
The retreat, which was held in Morocco February 18-25th, at the gorgeous black female owned boutique hotel, Jnane Tamsna in Le Palmeraie section of Marrakech, featured a stellar line up of influential and powerful women, all of whom are captains of their industries. Bozoma Saint John CBO of Uber, Koshie Mills, PR powerhouse, Terri Matthews, self made millionaire & motivational speaker, and Lauren Wesley-Wilson, founder of ColorComm; were just a few of the speakers in attendance, who communed with other women of color from across the globe at the retreat, to share their stories, advice, and practical steps to living your best life, personally and professionally, with all those in attendance. All of which surrounded the running theme of celebrating the art of community, excellence and empowerment.
The week long experience, in partnership with Veyep Sports, Uber, Cover FX, Bacardi and a host of other large & small business; culminated in a grand gala for the Global Migrants Project by the Global Diversity Foundation, to help migrants and refugees facing inhumane conditions in Northern Africa. Followed by a luncheon at Jnane Tamsna & the debut of African International Art Fair 1:54, at La Mamounia in Marrakech.
The IMARA programming was beautifully curated, and can be seen in the digital pamphlet, here: IMARA DIGITAL PROGRAM. It included a variety of amazing panels & discussions ranging from financial, travel, entrepreneurship, to self care and even representation; and why it really matters. Each day offered something unique and enriching, from the various speakers with active engagement encouraged by those in attendance, via in depth q&a sessions and satellite talks after each discussion.
This was no ordinary retreat, however. Never before have women from such diverse industries and backgrounds come together in such an openly transparent fashion, with no agenda other than to openly share what they know, who they are, and how their journey has helped shape them into the women they are today. The true value of the retreat was not only in the interaction of these women, but also in the organic connections between them as they honored each other for who they each are, regardless of industry, income or status. The retreat reinforced that no one can succeed on their own and that no one can have influence by themselves. This was about community amongst women of color, or as the founders themselves dubbed it, tribe.
Overall, IMARA was spectacular, impactful, and needed. In an era where there seems to be so much divisiveness, a convergence of this magnitude and depth, was necessary, especially for women of color.
When asked what the vision was for the retreat, The Colored Girl expressed:
Our vision was to bring women together to share, connect, create lasting bonds, and be sources of inspiration, motivation and empowerment for each other. We wanted to create an opportunity for women (of color) to commune in a space that is built solely for the authentic sharing of energy, truths, experiences, and practical advice to embrace the art of living their best lives. We took it to Morocco, Jnane Tamsna specifically, for two reasons: One, Jnane Tamsna’s owner Meryanne Loum-Martin (our client) is the first person (and black woman) to own & open a boutique hotel in Morocco! We felt this was significant, especially since we were bringing a group of women of color together in a special place to be inspired! Secondly, we decided to launch the event to coincide with the African debut of International Art Fair 1:54. An art fair that showcases African art, which until recently, had actually never even occurred in AFRICA! We saw a distinct parallel between the disconnection in the art world between black artists and black audiences (with the lack of awareness, representation & engagement), in spaces where black art is showcased. Which is a similar disconnect & lack of awareness, representation, amongst WOC in mainstream media, which is the reason we started our company. We wanted to connect different facets of the art of excellence & empowerment, as WOC with the story of these African artists in such a rich, historically significant and beautiful place, as Morocco.
Founders Victory Jones & Tori Elizabeth are available for interviews, upon request.
PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINKS BELOW, FOR PHOTOS & VIDEO FROM THE RETREAT:
PHOTOS BY ALANA PETER @alanayolande - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gVfFrjpPzUF8sGAFgxZOBaT4WHrX4Nyn
PHOTOS BY MIRZA BABIC @mirzababicfoto - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jmsq6rdtijkqigs/AACdHPxfdZPcC3XnGuTaNCUha?dl=0
VIDEO BY JEROME BAILEY @jeromebaileyjr - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VOIkIDRIazy07Gydb-UlP48_x_msIJsT?usp=sharing
PLEASE MAKE SURE TO TAG @THECGIRLINC IN ALL PHOTOS AND USE THE HASHTAG #IMARA.
