Episodes

Nancey B. Price, collage artist, writer and performance story teller joined us in the virtual studio to chat it up with us about all things Strong Black Woman and why she doesn’t live her life from that space. In today’s episode, Nancey gets real about why she hates being called strong and how she’s not rocking with the term Queen either. Trust! You don’t want to miss this episode because Nancey is boldly and unashamedly sharing why she’s throwing the Strong Black Woman Trope back at all the peo...

Black History Month, the one month some of us love and hate simultaneously — love because we get to shine a light on the greatness that is Black History and hate because it really didn’t have to be this way. In today’s episode we BRIEFLY talk abou WHY it didn’t have to be this way, how Black history was intentionally and deliberately left out of American history and how we’re using the “cookie” [aka Black History Month] they gave us to honor a few of the Black women we love. Check out the bullet...

Godly love dictataes that we show others what God is like, but is exemplifying such love causing Black women to dehumanize themselves? Today’s conversation is a toucy one, but definitley one worth having. According to Biblical passage Godly love shows up in how we treat each other, but how does it show up in how we treat ourselves? Before you go clutching your pearls sis, this is NOT a let’s bash God conversation. This is an open discussion raising a few reasonable questions for your considerati...

Loving yourself FIRST opens the door for you to unlearn the things people have told you about who you are. Happy Valentine’s Day, sis! In today’s episode, we’re talking about all things LOVE — self love that is. If you’ve ever strugggled with loving ALL of you, you absolutley MUST tune in to this episode. Today we’re sharing our experiences of how challenging it’s been to love the parts of us that others deem unloveable, how we’re on a journey of reclaiming our enoughness, and what it feels lik...

Cultivating healthy girlfriendships is about creating a culture of trust — a culture where honesty is appreciated and reciprocated. Today’s episode is an early celebration of Galentines Day, so in honor of the same we thought it would be fun to write a love letter of sorts to each other and we’re sharing those letters with you. So go ahead and tap in, sis so you can hear us love on each other like girlfriends should. It is our hope that after listening to this episode you will have gained some i...

Wins, challenges, and revelations oh my! It’s the last day of the first month of the year and things have happened that need to be talked about. … and we’re talking about all of them — well not all of them, but it’s still a pretty dope conversation. In this episode we share how we’re GROWING into our “my strong is” declarations since we declared them in episode one. It’s only been thirty days, and let me just tell ya, there were wins, there were challenges and there were REVELATIONS, and there w...

Doing the most (for the purpose of this episode) is when a Black woman does WAY more than required or gives WAY more (energy) than she has to give to people, places, or things. … either way she’s doing too much, and in today’s episode Shirl and Natty are saying, “you don’t have to do that sis.” But to be sure you’re NOT doing the most, you need others in your in your corner who hold you accountable. Today’s conversation is going to support you in being sure you’re surrounded by people who care e...

Nurture yourself isn’t the buzz word that “self-care” is, but it definitely should be because Black women doing life from a place of exhaustion and overwhelm has been the running theme since our ancestors were stolen from Mother Africa and if anyone deserves nurturing it’s Black women. And before you come for us, yes we [Shirl and Natty] know that self-care and nurturing yourself ride in the same lane of the self-love highway, but rather than lump everything into one self-care vehicle, we though...

Being still and embracing quiet moments gives me Easy Like Sunday Morning vibes. It’s liberating, you know? It’s not necessarily about not physically moving, it’s about creating a life with less stress, worry, and emotional overwhelm and Kimberly Sumpter is committed to mastering the art of it. In this episode, Kimberly gives me an inside look at what it took for her to finally go from a life of extreme overwhelm to one where she intentionally and unapologetically ceates time to play, breathe an...

Do Black women GET to be soft and strong? Do they have the capacity to be soft, feminine, strong and receptive? There are so many layers to these questions, and Ivory Bennett stopped by to start peeling them all back. Join us in today’s episode as she takes us on a journey of what it took for her to finally tap into being soft, feminine, and receptive. Ivory admits that arriving in this space hasn’t been easy, and it is indeed challenging to remain there, but she’s determined not to go back to t...

Contrary to popular belief, Black women are extremely vulnerable. Whether we embrace that vulnerbility with grace and ease is a whole other Story. In today’s epiosede Trezelle Morgain takes us on her journey towards grace, vulnerability and ease. She admits getting to a place where she wasble to stand in the totality of who she is was no easy feat, but she was tired of being hyper-independent and hyper-productive. When Covid graced us with her presence, Trezellefound herself feeling stuck and ho...

Mental Health, Resilience, and Postpartum Depression often get a bad rap in the Black female community. Mental health because it’s highly stigmatized, resilience because Black women are often celebrated for their bounce back game even when it’s to their own detriment, and postpartum depression because depression in and of itself is taboo – add postpartum in front of it and it becomes even more taboo. We’re glad “critically acclaimed and born” Sasha Nicole is going against the grain and talking a...

Life be lifing!!!! How many times have you said that to yourself in a week, a month, a day? Yeah, I said a day because “depending on the kind of life you’re living, life be happening (aka lifing) every 30 seconds for you.“ But, don’t worry sis, we got you! My good friend, Chelsea Wallace came through to drop some knowledge on how we can ALL remain steady, present, and free even when LIFE LBE LIFING super hard. “Life is so unpredictable in its routine, you can end up in a position where you are c...

Sitting with uncomfortable emotions is undoubtedly one of the most challenging experiences you will encounter along life’s journey. It’s also one of the most needed to enjoy a life of wholeness and total surrender. I am joined in the virtual studio by one of the most unapologetic and authentic Black women I have met to date. Wendi Dixon is a beautiful soul who has experienced trauma in various areas of her life, but has found comfort, freedom, and peace in sitting with the uncomfortable emotions...

SEASON 5 of the Shades of Strong podcast PREMIERES JULY 19TH…and it promises to be ALL THE THING This season we’re showcasing Black women who are daring to do strong differently – Black women who have made a conscious and deliberate effort to give up a life of caping, masking, and hiding in exchange for one of play and ease. After years of playing the role of superwoman, they’re telling society, religion, their family, and friends to kick rocks with no shoes on, because they dance to the beat ...

Magical things happen when Black women heal! PERIOD!!! Shirl and Natty are extending an invitation for you to be a part of a close knit sistahood built on love, friendship, support, and accountability. A space where sistas lean on each other in times of trouble and unrest, and dance with each other in times of celebration. Tap into the final episode of Uncaping, Unmasking, and Unhiding series for a conversation about the Sista Circle of Healing, the healing journey, the benefits of healing in co...

Dear Black women, you don’t have to be over “IT” by now. Dear Black women, you don’t have to be in a sunken place. Dear Black women, You DERSERVE to be HEALED, EVOLVED, RESTORED. Tap in today’s episode as Shirl and Natty share some of their personal barriers to healing, how they veiw trauma and how they moved through the barriers AND the trauma, and are now on a journey of healing that let’s them experience life from a place of wholeness and happiness. And be sure to join us in the Shades of Str...

Sis!!! It’s time go get off the hamster wheel of perfection. It is endless cycle of exhaustion to the land of nowhere, and is serving absolutely no purpose in your life. Tap in to this episode to get a few simple strategies on how to give yourself permission to not be perfect. And be sure to join us in the Shades of Strong Facebook Community to share your thoughts with us. The Facebook community is a safe space where you can connect with other Black women and have open and honest discussions abo...

If you feel like you’re constantly having to walk on eggshells around your mom – trying not to upset her, if you obsess over getting her approval or being accepted by her, if she’s critical of everything you do and those things are causing you unrest, or if her absence (physically or emotionally) is/was very apparent and that’s causing you discontent, if the very thought of being in her presence causes you anxiety you may have a mother daughter wound. Tap in to this episode as Shirl and Natty pe...