Moment of Joy: Tarica June’s ‘Selfie’ Video Celebrates Natural Beauty of Black Girls

It’s impossible to watch these girls reveling in their hair and skin without grinning.

The nation is living under threat of nuclear war and the White House is ignoring climate change, but singer Tarica June just released a 4 minute, 27 second bright spot for your day.

In the video for “ Selfie ,” June joins forces with Black girls of various ages and hues to extol the many virtues of their natural beauty. From the track to the visual, June told Colorlines that she was intentional about creating a self-love anthem for people with coily hair and melanin-kissed skin, drawing on an uplifting, repetitive chorus, real hand claps and joyful little ones in hopes that listeners will sing along: “I’m beautiful just the way that I am, so beautiful, just the way that I am.”

June chatted with Colorlines about why she feels this video is a must-watch right now:

“Selfie” is necessary because girls need to have a self-contained sense of beauty—a beauty that they define for themselves based on their own internal reflection of themselves. I chose the selfie concept for this message because, just like when you take a selfie you’re essentially saying, “I don’t need anyone else to take my picture to validate my beauty,” the song “Selfie” means, “I don’t need anyone else to tell me I’m beautiful. I already know I am, no matter what other people may think or say.”

I think girls (and even women) really need that message given how the media generally defines beauty within narrow parameters that exclude most of us. Popular culture reinforces these narrow parameters and teaches Black

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