According to Beauty Director Julee Wilson Keke Palmer was super excited to show off her crown of natural curls for the July issue of Cosmopolitan.
Julee shared the below on Instagram:
Y’all! Behold, my first official @cosmopolitan cover I got to beauty direct with the incomparable @kekeSuper excited to show off her crown of natural curls and all that flawless skin Shoutout to @ann_joneshair for her popping curls and @mimikamara for that beautiful beatThe styling (with all Black brands) was executed by the amazing @cassieanderson212 And my love for photographer @danascruggs is limitless.
She did her thang once againCosmo cover team superstars: EIC @jessica_pels Entertainment Director @maxwelllosgar Visual Director @kristingeo Cover story author @hunterh.
In the issue, Keke dished about her interaction with the National Guard during the peaceful demonstrations last month, general injustice, and what empowers her. Read below:
I want to dig into the moment when you asked National Guardsmen to join a peaceful demonstration. How did it feel to be out there?
I can’t even tell you. It was so euphoric. I just felt so united with everybody. It wasn’t no celebrity-type shit, you know what I mean? I’ve never felt like that before. If I sit and think about everything that’s happened in this country, I wouldn’t get out of fucking bed in the morning. So for us to have that moment of just helping each other heal, just standing by each other, marching and saying, “No justice, no peace.” That’s so powerful.
And then eventually you come face-to-face with the soldier…
So, we’re marching, doing a call-and-response, and we get to this point where we’re not able to cross because the National Guard is being told to protect the nearby buildings. To me, it’s just such a slap in the face. We’re the ones that need to be protected, not the damn buildings! The buildings can be rebuilt.
When we start to approach them, I’m literally just thinking aloud, “Why are they not with us?” Honestly, for me, it went back—I’m sorry, I’m getting emotional because it reminds me of my niece. When I look at her and she asks me such simple questions like, “Why is the sky blue? Why are there clouds? Where do planets come from?” that’s what it felt like: “Why are they not with us?” I really, honestly wanted to know why. I was overwhelmed with the emotion of everybody knowing what’s happening, that it’s not right. And this is something that, as a Black person, we’ve known.
It’s so powerful for me because I’ve been through it. I know what it feels like to be hated for your skin. It’s so silly and it’s so stupid, but it’s so cruel. I know what it feels like when somebody is racist toward you, and you literally go to a sunken place, you can’t speak. It’s so hard to explain if you’ve never felt it, but I know you have. It hurts. And we get so strong that sometimes it’s like we don’t even realize it, because we’ve been carrying the weight of it for so long.
It sounds like you’re very busy—and feeling pretty empowered.
I went on a great journey at the end of 2019—a journey of personal love and self-love and really understanding what that meant. There was a breakup, not just romantic but friendships too. The concept of loneliness used to weigh me down. But my 26th year has been a golden year, because I’ve come to a lot of revelations about myself.
From hosting to acting to music to the way you speak out about injustice—even the way you’re a constant source of meme-able material, I’m not sure a career like yours could’ve been possible for a Black woman even 15 years ago.
When I came into the industry 15 years ago, that’s exactly what people told my mom, so you’re 100 percent correct. My inspiration comes from my peers, it comes from my generation, it comes from God. I want to be able to make sure that I did something, that I had positive intentions and made positive impacts, even if on just one person. That, to me, is what makes me so purposeful in my life. My first language is art.
Read Keke Palmer’s entire interview here.
