This newsletter feels strange for a few reasons. I'm writing it on a Monday morning instead of a Sunday evening. Also, it’s strange when you have a lot to say but don’t know quite what to say. I feel like that perfectly describes how I feel after Friday and Saturday. After months of planning and being 10 years in the making, the Black Ballad Weekender finally happened.If I’m honest, I feel so overwhelmed at seeing over a thousand black women over two days mingle, eat lunch together, learn how to cornrow together, shop black owned businesses, attend finance workshops, attend panels on masculinity, mental health and motherhood - and that was just some of what was on offer.
I am so proud of what we have achieved. As a team of three, putting together this event and maintaining the other parts of Black Ballad hasn’t been easy and one thing I have come to realise is that we have to fight for our dreams. The BB Weekender was a true labour of love, but it was genuinely the hardest thing I have ever had to do. The nights of wondering if black women would attend, questioning if the programming good enough, navigating the financial requirements of a huge project like this, dealing with brands who said no and brands who pulled out last minute. This BB Weekender was a masterclass like no other in emotionally and physically picking myself up to see what I had dreamed of become a reality.
I know as black women we deserve things to be easier and if I’m honest, I thought 10 years of serving black women would have made the BB Weekender easier to get over the line. Many times in the build up to the Weekender I questioned if I was doing the right thing, if Black Ballad was even still needed, but by the end of Saturday, I said the Weekender was worth the fight.
The dreams we have as black women are worth fighting for, because as black women, when we dare to dream, when we fight for our dreams, we give other black women permission to pursue theirs. By fighting through the the hardest parts of our dreams and battling self doubts to make them a reality, we can open the door for other black women and girls to see their dreams come to life.
I know there were so many amazing moments in the Weekender, but one I will never forget is seeing my children with Dr. Ronx. My four year old daughter loves Operation Ouch, a show Dr. Ronx presents and says she wants to be a doctor. When she met Dr. Ronx, she did that child thing of being all shy, but as I type, she is sleeping with Dr.Ronx’s How To Save A Life book that they signed on Saturday. My baby girl has been telling us that she met Dr. Ronx yesterday and it dawned on me that by pursuing my dream of the Weekender, it has taken my four year old a little closer to her current dream of wanting to be a doctor.
So black women, dare to dream. Dare to be bold enough to fight for your dreams if you can. As we enter the next decade of Black Ballad, I don’t know what the future holds. I know you all want us to do the Weekender again. I know you as members want more perks, more events outside London and more content. Bola, Jeni and I working on it all (but please remember we are a small team). So, this next decade, or for however long you will have us, Black Ballad is the media and lifestyle company for black women who dare to dream. And thank you from Jeni, Bola and I for allowing our dreams to be a reality for the last decade, but especially for our dreams to become real on the 23rd and 24th August.
Tobi Oredein
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