Naomi was in the car with her young cousins, excited to finally have a break from college and enjoy a day at the park. But Naomi became concerned when her cousin, who was also excited to spend time at the park, wouldn’t leave the car. After some gentle coaxing, Naomi’s young cousin revealed she didn’t want to leave the car because it was a sunny day and she was worried her skin would become darker. From that moment on, Naomi determined she would help BIPOC children around the world unlearn self-hate caused by colorism and embrace their cultures, histories, and identities. And she would do so by creating her own business. Listen as Naomi shares how she began Revolutionary Hearts Industries, a publishing house that specializes in empowering children and adults through educational coloring books.
Business Advice from Naomi:
1. Find your something.
“When I started making coloring books, I realized that this was my something. I can’t fix colorism. I can’t fix racism. I can’t fix all these structural oppressions. But at the very least I can show a Black or Brown child that they are powerful. That they are deserving. That they are smart. That they are valuable.”
2. Find your village.
“My biggest flex in life is I have always had people who supported me, whether or not they thought what I was doing was insane or not. They would give me patterns. They would ask me harder questions. . . . So I think for me, when it comes to what makes me motivated, it’s the fact that I have had such a beautiful village of people . . . who have been so hammered down behind me.”
3. Failure is not an attack on you.
“How I recover from failure is by asking questions as to why I didn’t move to the next level. Or asking questions as to how I could have done better . . . . I don’t take failure as an attack on me. I take it as I could have done better; I’m going to keep going for it.”
- Naomi Winston: @naomi.winston33
- Revolutionary Hearts: @revolutionaryheartsind
TikTok
- Naomi Winston: @naomi.win10k
- Revolutionary Hearts: @revolutionaryheartsind
Website
- Revolutionary Hearts (www.revolutionaryheartsind.com)
- Naomi Winston (www.nwimmortalized.com)
