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SPORTS: September 28 - October 4, 2007
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE
turn their attention
Historic Greater Bethel
to Homecoming weekend
in Miami to host A.M.E.
See page B5
annual conference
See page B2
www.flcourier.com
ETHNICITY MODELS
The women shown above are just several who receive top assignments through Ethnicity Models. The company carefully screens jobs to make sure models aren’t portrayed in a negative light.
The face of Ethnicity South Florida woman’s agency finds
respectful roles for Black models
BY STARLA VAUGHNS CHERIN products. The models are sought af- specting what I did.’’ ban fashion catalogs. She watches girls made the squad and I was one
FLORIDA COURIER ter in major markets from Miami to over her models like a mother hen of them.”
New York to Hollywood. Single mom with and won’t allow her agency to be-
thnicity Models has carved a big dreams come a breeding ground for the boo- For more information, log on to
E niche in an industry bereft of
female curves and Black faces.
Agency owner LaShawnna Stan-
Black models still
being overlooked
Stanley’s focus on models of Afri-
Standing up for your own value
is a lesson Stanley said she learned
from her grandmother and from
ty-shaking video girls.”
Ethnicity model Alexis Greene tells
how Stanley helped start her career.
“Í was attending the University
www.ethnicitymodels.com. Ethnicity
Models also are featured in the Flori-
da’s Finest.
ley is making a name for herself for can decent is unique in an industry herself when she found out she
highlighting the beauty as well as that barely observes a quota for Black was pregnant at age 15. An honor of Miami, majoring in broadcast
the brains of ethnic models. models. On the catwalk, you might roll student who cleaned the house journalism. During my stay in
Stanley’s modeling agency, based see two in a show; on magazine cov- without being asked, it was no won- Miami, I linked up with model-
in Miami, offers more than beauti- ers, there have been few Black mod- der her mother didn’t find out until ing agent LaShawnna Stanley
ful young women in photo shoots els on front pages in years. she was 8 months along. of Ethnicity Models,” Greene
and videos. The agency also has From Tyra Banks to Beverly John- “My mom was a teen mom, a writes.
sidestepped the stereotypes and fo- son—the first Black woman to ap- kid raising kids and a victim of the “LaShawnna gave me
cused on hip-hop and its wide range pear on the cover of a major fashion streets. There are two of us, but great advice on my ca-
of products—from cellular phones magazine in the ’70s—you can count when my grandmother died she reer as well as booked me
and clothing lines to music videos. on one hand the number of Black also raised her adopted son, so it for several leading roles
Opening a boutique on South models working in the industry. was three of us,” Stanley said. “She in music videos such as
Beach and doing fashion shows along According to Women’s Wear wasn’t paying attention. She didn’t Urban Mystic’s “Where
Ocean Drive got Stanley noticed by Daily, the situation was evident notice my habits changing, sleeping Were You,” Trina and Lil
fashion insiders who recognized the this month in Fashion Week’s New more, getting sick and staying in my Wayne’s “Don’t Trip,”
“it” factor of Ethnicity Models. York shows and some say it’s worse pajamas all day.” and Webbie and Trina’s
Stanley grew up in Kansas City, in Europe, where most Black mod- Stanley was determined not to “Bad Chick,” Green in-
Mo., and worked for 10 years in a stock els don’t even bother to try to book become a statistic. cludes on her blog. “Aside
brokerage firm, working her way up shows in Milan. “When people are in your head from modeling, I also love
from a data entry job to a stock ana- Fashion model and agency owner telling you that you aren’t going to to dance so I tried out for
lyst. She used money from the job to Bethann Hardison has handled cast- be nothing because you have a kid, a spot on the Miami Dol-
start a clothing store. ing over the years and said, “In the it can make you forget who you are,” phins cheerleading squad.
“The firm had profit-sharing in- United States of America, this is the she said. “Your mind is crushed. Out of 400 girls spanning
vestments, which I participated one industry that still has the free- I even forgot I wanted to do fash- across the United States, 40
in. I had about $7,000. That is how dom to refer to people by their color ion and open a boutique. I started
I was able to quit. It wasn’t security and reject them in their work. I came thinking maybe I’ll go to the Army.
because it wasn’t that much money, up in the ’60s. I feel it’s the worst it’s I knew I wanted to work. I was just
but I used it to start my business,” ever been.” looking for a way out and thinking
she told the Florida Courier. of options.”
“I was successful in Kansas with Video lyrics read before In addition to running her model-
my boutique and recruited models models sent on jobs ing empire, Stanley now speaks to
for advertising. I did the same thing By not including more Blacks in youth, especially young women.
when I came to Miami. It created a their shows and ads, Ivan Bart, se- Her story mirrors their own with
buzz on South Beach.” nior vice president of IMG Models, the exception that she shows
said designers and other fashion them it’s never to late to live
Clients range from companies are missing out on Black your dream.
Diddy to Dodge women’s spending power. Accord-
Stanley had a knack for getting ing to Targetmarketnews.com, Black Role model for
models in the business, but she women spend $20 billion annually models, students
wanted to make sure they were on apparel. “In my public speaking, I
treated with dignity. “By not having Black women rep- push the idea of believing in
“When FUBU asked me to send resented, those luxury brands are yourself,” she added. “Love
them two girls for their calendar, I saying they can’t afford it,” he said. yourself” is a self-respect cam-
decided to manage them because I That is the reason Stanley said she paign because today self-re-
know it’s a hard, male-dominated looked to other avenues to get Eth- spect is lost. We put value on
business,” she said. nicity Models seen and hired. the wrong things. Material
After Stanley moved to Miami, “I knew we could do this and have things are more important than
she was asked to find some pretty fun without being raunchy and de- spiritual. They are constantly
women for a video shoot and the rest grading,” she said. “Victoria Secret thinking, ‘What can I get? They
is history. Today just about every hot and Sports Illustrated models are begin to compromise who they
music video seen on BET, MTV and half-naked and they aren’t thought are because they want to get
in blockbuster films features at least of as whores because they are not as- stuff like a ride in the Benz and
one Ethnicity model. sociated with a negative image. The shopping.
Ethnicity Models represents male body is beautiful; it’s just what you “The more you do something
and female models between the ages associate yourself with.” that is not right, it becomes nor-
of 17-25, with exotic ethnic looks. In the beginning she admits to ac- mal. We’re numbed to being disre-
Stanley also receives occasional re- cepting some jobs that were risky, spected, so we accept it. When you
quests for all ethnic types and ages her reputation as a manager who love yourself, you will not let people
for TV commercials, print adver- cares about her models grew. put you in situations that make you
tisements, moves and music videos “Because I stand for something, it uncomfortable,” Stanley added.
—from children to grandparents. was going against the grain, espe- She tells it to her models too. “I
Her clients have included rap mo- cially while trying to get into a game have to say, ‘Let’s go. No we aren’t
gul Diddy, Hummer, Dodge, Chevro- that is so hard. But I have standards going up to his hotel’ and ‘Yeah, he ETHNICITY MODELS
let, Vitamin Water, Miller Light, Bud- and they had to stand back and re- tells everyone that,’” she said.
weiser, Bacardi, McDonalds, Burger spect them. For music videos, I read Keith Boykin’s Life Imitates Art LaShawnna Stanley has worked hard to clean up the negative image of
King, Apple Bottoms, Pele Pele, Ro- the lyrics before accepting jobs and Web site writes, “Stanley runs her women in music videos, and her models do not conform to the physi-
cawear, Cingular, African Pride, have turned them down too. At the own modeling agency for models to cal stereotypes of the mainstream fashion industry.
Cream of Nature and Motions hair end of the night, they end up re- appear in rap music videos and ur-