As a child in Senegal, Khoudia Diop heard taunts every day because of her dark skin tone. Her classmates laughed at her. She learned to stay quiet. What no one imagined was that the very thing they wanted her to hide would become her greatest strength.
At 15 she moved to France, at 17 she started walking runways in Paris, and in October 2016, at 19, she took part in the ‘The Colored Girl’ campaign — a project dedicated to celebrating the beauty of Black women. The photos went viral within hours. In days, she went from 300 followers on Instagram to more than 350,000. The whole world called her what she already knew she was: the Melanin Goddess.
Today her message travels to every corner where there is a girl who feels ashamed of what she sees in the mirror: “If you are lucky enough to be different, never change.” A simple phrase. A story that reminds you that what they tried to use to bring you down can be exactly what takes you higher. 🖤